One dead, nine injured after explosion at MOL petrochemicals base - wrap-up

One person was killed and nine injured after an explosion at MOL's petrochemicals base in Tiszaujvaros (E Hungary) in the morning on Friday.

One of the nine had life-threatening injuries, four had serious injuries and four suffered minor burns, Pal Gyorfi, the spokesman for the National Ambulance Service, told MTI.

The explosion occurred around 8:45 as the Olefin-1 plant at the base was restarted. A fire was extinguished by MOL firefighters and ones from Tiszaujvaros and nearby Miskolc in the morning.

Measurements by disaster protection authorities at the site indicated that the volume of hazardous substances in the air posed no risk to local residents.

At a press conference in the afternoon, MOL chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernadi said a hydrocarbon pipeline had exploded during maintenance. He added that there was no indication of outside intervention.

Treatment of the injured started within three minutes of the explosion, he said. MOL and government experts will work together to identify the cause of the accident, he added.

Hernadi expressed condolences in the name of the company to the family of the person who died and assured them of MOL's support.

Probe under way for suspected negligent endangerment causing death at MOL's Tiszaujvaros plant

An investigation is under way on suspicion of negligent endangerment causing death in the workplace in connection with the explosion at oil and gas company MOL's Tiszaujvaros plant, a Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen County Police Headquarters spokesperson said on Saturday.

Attila Janaszoczki said in a statement that the procedure had started after an on-site inspection.

A blast occurred at the MOL Petrochemicals plant in Tiszaujvaros on Friday morning. One person died and nine were injured in the industrial accident. Firefighters put out the fire that morning.

According to an on-site briefing by MOL chief executive Zsolt Hernadi and economy and energy minister Istvan Kapitany, the accident has had no impact on the country's fuel supply.

Earlier:

MOL chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernadi and Energy Minister Istvan Kapitany are en route, Magyar said.

In a post on Facebook, local news source Tiszaujvarosi Kronika said available information pointed to the explosion of a pyrolysis gasoline line at the MOL Petrolkemia plant. Disaster protection officials have said local residents are not at risk, it added.

David Dojcsak, the spokesman for the local disaster protection authority, told MTI that the fire at the plant was being extinguished and a mobile laboratory had been sent.

MOL told MTI that the explosion took place during a restart of the Olefin-1 plant. Firefighters have localised the fire, it added.

The oil and gas company confirmed that one person had died in the explosion and several were seriously injured. Experts are investigating the circumstances of the accident, it added.

Tiszaujvaros Mayor Gyorgy Fulop said in a video message on Facebook that there was no need, for the time being, to take steps to protect local residents. He added that firefighters from Tiszaujvaros and nearby Miskolc had been called to the site and were extinguishing the fire and cooling the facility with foam and water cannons.

People injured in the accident are being treated, the spokesman for the National Ambulance Service told MTI. Pal Gyorfi said three helicopters and a number of ambulances had arrived at the scene and were evacuating the injured.

In an update on Facebook, the prime minister said one person had died in the accident and seven had suffered serious burns. He added that measurements by the disaster protection authority's mobile laboratory showed levels of hazardous substances were not over thresholds.

Magyar expressed his condolences to the family of the person who died in the explosion and wished a speedy recovery to those who were injured.

Economy and Energy Minister Istvan Kapitany said in a post on Facebook that the final casualty count in the accident stood at one dead, one seriously injured and seven with minor burns. The person with serious injuries was evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in Debrecen, he added.

The explosion was reported at 8:47 in the morning, Kapitany said.

The fire at the base has been extinguished, the spokesman for the local disaster protection authority told MTI.

MTI Stock Photo
 

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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