Water cooling tower at Haifa oil refinery collapses

The tower, part of a set of two, was built during the British Mandate, and posed as one of most notable icons of the city.

One of the water cooling towers at the Haifa oil refinery collapses, June 12, 2020 (photo credit: URI RESHEF)
One of the water cooling towers at the Haifa oil refinery collapses, June 12, 2020
(photo credit: URI RESHEF)
One of the water cooling towers at the Haifa oil refinery collapsed on Friday morning.

The water tower had been showing recent signs of deterioration and has not been in use since 2009.
“The collapse occurred after a wall segment fell two days ago,” said a representative from BAZAN Oil Refineries Ltd.
“BAZAN takes all responsibility, including consulting with engineering and design experts in order to learn from the incident,” the representative added.
The tower, part of a set of two, was built during the British Mandate, and posed as one of most notable icons of the city. The second tower is used as a visitor center, where training tours are held for the Haifa oil refinery.
Firefighting teams were called to the scene of the collapse, however there was no fear of fire and no injuries were reported.
Maariv, The Jerusalem Post’s sister publication, contributed to this report.
Maariv, The Jerusalem Posts's sister publication, contributed to this report.