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UPDATE 2-Four injuries in Texas refinery blast - mayor

Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:37pm EST

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(Updates with mayor's statement to Reuters, local report fire controlled, mayor's wife detail)

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HOUSTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Four people were injured on Monday in an explosion and fire at the 67,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Alon USA Energy Inc. (ALJ.N) refinery in Big Spring, Texas, the town's mayor said.

"There were no life-threatening injuries," Mayor Russ McEwen said at a news conference near the refinery. He told Reuters four people were hurt.

McEwen said company officials told him the fire, which began around 8 a.m. CST (1400 GMT), was brought under control by 11 a.m. (1700 GMT), although smoke still poured from the scene, 290 miles west of Dallas. Interstate 20 was closed in the area.

"They feel very comfortable that they are getting everything under control They are making sure hazardous materials are segregated," McEwen said.

Howard County Judge Mark Barr, administrative chief of the county, cautioned that the fire was not out. "It's probably going to take some time to get it out," he said.

The cause was not immediately determined, McEwen said. "They'll have to reconstruct and figure out what happened. They do not know what happened," he said.

An Alon representative was not immediately available to discuss events at the refinery.

Residents near the refinery said their houses a mile away shook when the blast occurred at about 8:15 a.m. CST (1415 GMT).

"To me, it's a miracle" that more people were not injured, Laura McEwen, the mayor's wife, told Reuters. "We live a mile to a mile-and-a-half away and our house shook." (Reporting by Erwin Seba and Bruce Nichols; Editing by Dan Grebler)



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