Fire Strikes Russia's Omsk Oil Refinery, Seven Hospitalized

Seven individuals were hospitalized, with one in serious condition, due to a fire at the Omsk oil refinery in Russia. Despite the incident, the plant continues to operate normally and its production plans remain unaffected.

Seven people are in hospital, with one in a serious condition, following a fire at the Omsk oil refinery in Russia, the local governor reported on Monday. However, the plant stated that it is operating normally and production plans will not be impacted.

'The fire at the Omsk refinery is under control. The plant's automatic safety system detected a fire in technological equipment, and the company is operating as usual,' announced the refinery, which is the largest in Russia. Vitaly Khotsenko, the local governor, confirmed on the Telegram messaging app that seven people were hospitalized, with one in serious condition.

The refinery, managed by Gazprom Neft, assured that the fire would not affect its production schedules, thanks to additional production capacity. Social media reports noted a massive explosion heard across multiple districts of the west Siberian city, situated approximately 2,700 km (1,700 miles) east of Moscow.

The exact cause of the fire remains unknown. Several Russian oil refineries have recently been targets of Ukrainian drone attacks. The Omsk refinery processed over 21 million metric tons (420,000 barrels per day) of crude oil in 2022.

(With inputs from agencies.)