An explosion at a petrochemical plant in the city of Tiszaujvaros, Hungary, resulted in 1 death and 8 injuries.
According to reports in the Hungarian press, an explosion occurred at a petrochemical base belonging to the oil and gas company MOL, operating in the city of Tiszaujvaros in the northeast of the country. It was stated that the fire that broke out after the incident was extinguished with the intervention of fire brigade teams.
Hungarian Minister of Economy and Energy Istvan Kapitany confirmed in a statement on his social media account that the explosion occurred at 08:47 local time, while the 'Olefin-1' facility was being prepared to restart. Minister Kapitany reported that at least one person lost their life in the accident, one of the injured, most of whom were receiving burn treatment, was in serious condition and was airlifted to a hospital in Debrecen, while the other 7 were slightly injured.
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar also published a condolence message on social media, expressing condolences to the family of the deceased worker and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured. Prime Minister Magyar stated that MOL Chairman and CEO Zsolt Hernadi and Minister Kapitany set out to conduct investigations at the scene.
NO ENVIRONMENTAL THREAT
Following the incident, Tiszaujvaros Mayor Gyorgy Fulop responded to public concerns about environmental safety. Fulop stated that there was no need for local residents to take special protective measures, emphasizing that measurements made by a mobile laboratory dispatched by disaster management authorities showed that the concentration of hazardous substances in the air did not exceed safety limits and did not pose a threat to the local population.
According to reports in the local press, initial findings indicate that the explosion may have originated from a pyrolysis gasoline line at the facility. The MOL company has launched a comprehensive investigation to determine the exact cause of the accident.
