By Euronews
Published on
A fire that broke out late on Monday at an oil refinery near Budapest has been contained, the Hungarian oil company MOL has said.
The blaze was reported to have started after an explosion at the AV3 plant of the Danube Refinery in Százhalombatta.
As of Tuesday morning, firefighters were still working in the area, using foam and water cannons to extinguish the fire.
The authorities have said that there were no injuries and no threat to the surrounding communities, and that the exact cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Witnesses told Hungarian media that flames and smoke could be seen for kilometres from the MOL’s oil refinery.
According to Hungarian news outlets, the entire facility may temporarily shut down after the fire.
On social media, many people complained about the smell and the fumes in the area.
One Facebook user wrote: “On Monday evening, the smell of oil on the M6 near Százhalombatta was unbearable. Much worse than a petrol station. You could already tell that something was wrong.”
Several shots show the reddish sky and huge flames billowing from the oil refinery.
“Fifteen minutes ago we woke up to the sound of an explosion at a MOL plant next to us. The sky is red from the flames,” wrote one resident in the town of Érd.
“Due to the failure of a technological device at the Danube Refinery, increased flaring and smoke effects were felt in the surrounding villages,” MOL said late on Monday.
“The fault is being repaired and the country’s fuel supply is uninterrupted. Further increased flare-ups and smoke effects are expected at the refinery due to the restoration work,” the company added.
The facility, which is Hungary’s largest and most modern oil refinery, receives crude oil from Russia via the Barátság pipeline.
The last time there was a similar incident at the refinery was in July, when black smoke was seen billowing from the facility, according to Hungarian media.
Responding to this week’s fire, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said: “We will investigate the circumstances of the fire at the Százhalombatta oil refinery as rigorously as possible.”
