Gas Explosion Rocks Puerto Rico, No Loss Of Life

October 23rd, 2009 - 7:41 pm ICT by GD  

By Madhuri Dey
rico1Oct.23 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Puerto Rico was rocked by an explosion on Friday night. It happened in a Gulf gasoline facility. The facility called Caribbean Petroleum Corporations is a center for distributing and warehousing gasoline. The facility is situated in the San Juan bay. The incident happened around 12:30 in the morning.

The accident came into notice when the police registered columns of dense, black fumes rising from the Corporations. The explosion was at first thought to have been caused by the crashing of the Spirit Airlines Flight 837. The airplane had gone missing on it’s way from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan. Helicopters that were circling overhead reported that it was actually a gas explosion that had taken place. They also reported that there were more than thirty tanks present in the facility. Out of the thirty, around eleven had exploded.

The authorities have not yet been able to determine the extent of damage that have been caused by the explosion. There have reportedly been no deaths so far. However, the explosion has caused some minor injuries. The explosion has damaged the pavement of a highway that ran close by the site. The windscreens of the cars that were passing through the area got smashed, injuring the people inside. The authorities have taken steps to prevent any accidental blasts from happening. All adjoining fuel tanks are being removed and the remaining tanks of the Corporation are being cooled down. The area is also being evacuated. The authorities said that it would take several days to out the fire.

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