A fire at the ExxonMobil oil refinery in Texas early Thursday morning left many people injured when authorities and locals said it could have exploded.
Authorities say at least three people were taken to the hospital by air ambulance when authorities responded to a “major industrial accident” in Bedown, about 25 miles east of Houston.
In a statement, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were responding to the incident and “some injuries” were reported. Residents were asked to evacuate the area after the incident, which occurred at 1 a.m. (2 a.m. ET) local time.
In a separate statement, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said at least four people were injured and three were taken to the hospital by air ambulance. A fourth person is being transported to the hospital, he said.
González said initial reports indicate there was “some kind of explosion” inside the plant.
He said there were no signs that residents living nearby “for now” should leave the area or shelter.
At an ET press conference at 5:30 am, ExxonMobil site cleanup manager Rohan Davis said all four people at the hospital were in stable condition.
He said all other employees on the site have been held accountable.
Davis said he could not confirm whether an explosion had occurred at the facility.
“Right now, we are still collecting all the information,” he said: “We will carry out a thorough investigation.”
Several residents took to Twitter and described the “explosion” as strong enough to shake their homes.
“Explosion at Exxon!” Written by a social media user. “He made noise in my apartment and knocked my photos off the wall.”
“I hope everyone at Exxon is safe and praying tonight,” they added in another tweet, calling the incident a “big bang.”
Another resident said openly “the explosion hit my house.”
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In a statement, ExxonMobil said its emergency response teams are still committed to fighting the fire.
The company said its industrial health workers are monitoring air quality at the site and the fence line. So far no damage caused by the fire has been reported.
“Our first priority is those of the community and our facilities,” the company said, adding, “We apologize for any inconvenience or inconvenience this incident may have caused to the community.
According to Reuters, the facility includes a chemical plant, an Olympus plant and a 560,500-barrel-per-day oil refinery.
The Bedown Fire Department said its crew did not respond to the incident.
This is a growing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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