A fire caused by a “major industrial accident” at an industrial facility in the US state of Texas injured four people, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said on Thursday morning.
The blaze at the ExxonMobil facility in Baytown that houses a chemical plant, an olefins plant and a 560,500 barrels-per-day oil refinery, began about 1am, the company said on Twitter.
“Our fire teams are working to extinguish the fire. We are conducting personnel accounting,” Exxon said.
“At this time, emergency vehicles and flames may be noticeable to the community. We are co-ordinating with local officials, and working to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” the message said.
Emergency services including an air ambulance in the Houston area responded to the fire and ExxonMobil said it was working with authorities to tackle the blaze.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said on Twitter that three people were evacuated by Lifeflight rescue helicopter and a fourth person was taken by ambulance. But, he said that there were no reported fatalities.
