Four injured during a fire in an Exxonmobil refinery in Texas

AFP, published on Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 6:37 p.m.

Four people were injured in a fire that occurred Thursday in an Exxonmobil refinery located in Texas, a disaster qualified as ""major industrial accident"" by local police but which was mastered in the morning.

The Harris county's police forces reported, on the night of Wednesday to Thursday on Twitter, a ""major industrial accident"", adding that the fire had occurred at the Exxonmobil factory in Baytown,City located near Houston.

Three injured were evacuated by helicopter and the fourth taken to the hospital by ambulance, police said that ""no death was reported"".""The four people are in a stable state,"" an exxonmobil spokesperson told AFP.

The Exxonmobil factory in Baytown tweeted that a ""fire broke out"" on the site around one hour in the morning (local time) on Thursday and that the company ""works with local authorities to solve this problem as soon aspossible"".

Exxonmobil emergency teams managed to turn off the fire at the start of the morning, announced the spokesperson for the oil group, who said the fire had touched installations containing gasoline components.

""The causes of this fire have not yet been established,"" said the same source.

The on-site teams ""continue to measure air quality on the site and on the outskirts,"" continued the spokesperson.""The available information does not indicate a disturbance at this stage.""

The Baytown refinery began to operate in 1920 and the chemical factory in 1940, according to Exxonmobil.The facilities include four manufacturing sites, which employ around 7.000 people.

Texas, a state known for its fossil fuels, is an important oil producer.