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Death toll of Venezuelan refinery blast rises to 48

28 August 2012 01:40 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The number of people killed in a blast over the weekend at Venezuela’s Amuay oil refiner has climbed to 48, an official source said on Monday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Stella Lugo, governor of northwestern Falcon state, where the blast occurred, told local Union Radio station that the number of fatalities rose from 41 to 48 over the past few hours.

Seven people badly burnt by the explosion are in stable condition and receiving treatment at a hospital in neighboring Zulia state, she said, dismissing earlier rumors that they died.

"We have been serious, transparent and honest in releasing the figures, we don’t release figures we have not confirmed," Lugo said. State officials were monitoring the progress of the injured at clinics and hospitals, said Lugo, adding they would be transported to Zulia if needed.

A total of 33 families have been evacuated from their homes in the immediate vicinity of the refinery and relocated at Falcon’s Punto Fijo Naval Base as a preventive measure, since fires continued to rage Monday.

State inspectors have assessed the damage to some 520 homes so far, and found some to be totally destroyed, while others sustained only minor damages, said Lugo.

Medical reports said some of the victims suffered burns to 90 percent of their bodies, as well as multiple other injuries.

The explosion is one of the worst industrial disasters in Venezuela’s history and one of the worst to have occurred in recent years worldwide. It leveled 209 nearby homes and 11 businesses, and caused the largest number of fatalities at a National Guard post.

The Amuay refinery, 350 km from the capital Caracas, is part of the Paraguana Refinery Complex, which is the second largest oil refinery in the world and capable of producing 955,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Venezuela is South America’s biggest oil producer and the world ’s fifth biggest oil exporter.

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