Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NEDERLAND, Texas (AP) — Federal investigators are reviewing whether a welding contractor working on a crude oil pipeline connection under construction might have helped ignite a flash fire that injured seven people at a Southeast Texas refinery.
The Beaumont Enterprise reports (http://bit.ly/2aTW1jY ) the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Saturday was investigating the fire at the Sunoco refinery, located about 10 miles southeast of Beaumont, Texas.
Jeff Shields, a Sunoco spokesman, says part of the investigation into Friday night's fire will review whether the contractors followed safety practices.
Shields says seven contract workers were injured, four of them critically.
Three workers were flown to burn specialist hospitals in Houston and Galveston and the rest went to local hospitals by ambulance.
Shields did not have an update on the conditions of the injured workers.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
