Fire production unit of Iraq's largest oil refinery kills one

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A fire broke out Monday in Iraq's largest oil refinery in the northern town of Beiji, killing one person and injuring nine, police and hospital officials said. The fire broke out at about 2 p.m. in a production unit that had recently undergone maintenance work, a police officer and an engineer at the refinery said. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information. The injured were all suffering from burns and were transported to a local hospital, police and hospital officials said. Engineers said maintenance work had been carried out on units producing liquid gas and petrol, and that the blaze was believed to have been caused by a technical problem as one unit began operating again. The flames were extinguished by the evening, the police officer said.