Fire at Argentine oil refinery contained in time

Friday, August 23rd 2024 - 09:28 UTC

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First aid responders were summoned from the PNA and the municipalities of Ensenada and Berisso

A tank at the Ingeniero Enrique Mosconi Refinery Industrial Complex in the city of Ensenada -south of Buenos Aires and east of La Plata- belonging to Argentina's State-run oil company YPF caught fire Thursday at around 4.30 pm. The high smoke clouds polluted a vast part of the densely populated area but no victims were mentioned in the preliminary report.

Firefighters promptly prevented the flames from spreading, YPF said in a statement. In addition, first aid responders were deployed from the municipalities of Ensenada and the nearby city of Berisso as well as from the National Coast Guard (PNA).

YPF created a Crisis Committee at the site to deal with the emergency and was in constant communication with provincial and municipal authorities.

Se incendio una refinería de YPF en la plata
El incendio arranco en la zona de los oleoductos qué trasladan El petróleo
En teoría ya esta controlado pic.twitter.com/c2cFasaM5r
— ElBuni (@therealbuni) August 22, 2024

“Today at 4:30 p.m. a fire broke out in the tank areas of the Engineer Enrique Mosconi Industrial Complex Refinery located in Ensenada,” YPF's press release noted. “Immediately, the Complex's emergency guard intervened in the area and are containing the situation. So far there have been no injuries. The company wants to bring peace of mind to the residents of the area. We are working to control the situation. YPF will continue to report on the incident as new developments emerge,” it went on.

Civil Defense Director Roberto Scfati said that “it was a considerable fire and affected several fuel transportation lines with pumping stations.”

The University of La Plata's School of Medicine was evacuated as a precaution while residents were requested not to wander along 60th Avenue, to allow for the passage of relief teams. Local bus services linking La Plata with Berisso and Ensenada were also diverted.