At least 1 Marathon Petroleum employee dies in Texas City refinery fire, company says
SkyEye video showed fire and smoke rising from Marathon Petroleum's Galveston Bay Refinery. Here's what we know about this latest incident at a plant.
TEXAS CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- Marathon Petroleum has confirmed at least one employee's death in the wake of a fire that broke out at its Texas City refinery on Monday.
"We are deeply saddened to report that a Marathon employee has passed away as a result of the fire today at Marathon Petroleum's Galveston Bay refinery," a company statement read. "We extend our deepest sympathies to our employee's family, friends and co-workers, and our thoughts are with them as we all mourn his passing. The safety of our workers and the community is our top priority, and a full investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the incident."
The identity of the worker was not immediately released, and it wasn't immediately known if any other people were injured.
The statement, which ABC13 obtained just after 2:30 p.m., came a couple of hours after Texas City police said the fire was under control and contained.
According to Marathon, the fire started at approximately 9:30 a.m. It was unclear what exactly sparked the flames.
The Texas City police added that no shelter in place is needed and there is no threat to the community. Marathon said air monitoring is being conducted as a precaution.
SkyEye flew over the refinery just before 11 a.m. Monday, where large flames and a plume of black smoke could be seen rising into the air. Firefighters were seen dousing the flames in water.
An earlier Marathon statement didn't make clear about injuries or deaths, but it mentioned that "all employees and contractors are being accounted for currently."
The full statement, which ABC13 obtained just after 11:45 a.m., read:
"Marathon Petroleum crews are responding to a fire at the company's Galveston Bay refinery that began on Monday, May 15, at approximately 9:30 a.m. Central Time. Emergency Responders are on the scene, and all employees and contractors are being accounted for currently. Crews have deployed air monitoring in the community as a precaution. All regulatory notifications have been made."
Source: KTRK-TV
