Man killed in explosion

Press, 2 September 1983, Page 1

Man killed in explosion

PA Whangarei One man was killed yesterday and another suffered burns to 30 per cent of the body in an explosion and fire which has closed the Marsden Point oil refinery. The police said last evening that they had been unable to identify positively the dead man.

The burns victim, Mr Robert Howard, of Bream Bay Drive, Ruakaka, was last evening reported in a stable condition in Whangarei Hospital. A spokesman for the refinery said the explosion and resultant fire, which occurred about 1.30 p.m., was caused by a Hydrocarbon leak. The extent of

the damage was not known but the whole refinery plant was shut. The explosion was in the furnace area of the refinery which was immediately evacuated. The whole of the nearby refinery expansion project was also evacuated. The spokesman said that the refinery would remain shut until a full investigation into the accident was completed. There should be no immediate effect on petrol supplies from the shutdown, he said. Storage tanks at the refinery were almost at capacity levels. Damage from the fire was not expected to be serious.