IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — A group of 32 firemens in northern Iraq was fighting to put out a huge fire Thursday, a day after it broke out at an oil refinery, regional authorities stated.
The fire broke out late Wednesday at a big refinery in Irbil, in the semi-autonomous Kurdish area of northern Iraq.
Shakhawan Saeed, a representative for the Irbil Civil Defense Department, stated 14 firemens were hurt — 4 with burns and the other due to smoke inhalation — while fighting the blaze, which likewise damaged 4 fire truck.
Saeed stated the reason for the fire was not yet clear however that the center seemed doing not have in security steps, consisting of alarms and fire extinguishers. The owner of the refinery might not instantly be grabbed remark.
A local federal government authorities, who spoke on condition of privacy due to the fact that they were not licensed to speak with the media, informed the Associated Press that the fire appeared to have actually been brought on by an electrical fault.
Irbil’s Gov. Omed Khoshnaw stated the monetary damages brought on by the refinery fire were approximated at $8 million.
The Khazir refinery, owned by regional personal business owners, is among the biggest in Irbil, producing fuel, kerosene, and white oil. It had actually been a significant provider for the city of Mosul.
Iraq’s Kurdish area produces numerous countless barrels of oil every day. Formerly, much of the production was exported by method of Turkey, however the exports have actually been stopped for more than a year as an outcome of a judgment in a worldwide arbitration case.
The main federal government considers it prohibited for Irbil to export oil without going through the Iraqi nationwide oil business and won the arbitration case versus such trade.
In Iraq, summertime fires are frequently sustained by sweltering temperature levels, undependable electrical energy, and lax security requirements in numerous centers.
In Might, a fire emerged in a fair in Erbil, burning a minimum of 200 stores and 4 storage systems and hurting a minimum of 100 individuals.
On Sunday, a huge fire swallowed up industrial storage systems in main Baghdad, covering a 3,000 square meter location made from extremely combustible products, and eliminated 4 foreign Arab employees.
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Zeyad reported from Baghdad. Associated Press reporter Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad added to this report.