Erbil authorities contain oil refinery fire, about $8 million losses

Shafaq News/ After more than 20 hours of fire eruption, the local government in Erbil announced on Thursday that they have successfully contained the fire at an oil refinery on the road to the town of Koy Sinjaq.

Shakhwan Saeed, spokesperson for the Erbil Civil Defense, confirmed during a press conference, "The fire was brought under control, although smoke is still rising," reassuring that there are no risks to nearby refineries.

Providing more details of the incident, he stated, "We managed to contain 80 percent of the fire initially, but the high temperature and pressure caused the fire to spread to a second storage tank."

Regarding the refinery's licensing status, Saeed remarked, "We do not know whether it was licensed or not, but it did not meet any civil defense requirements."

Governor Omed Khoshnaw, speaking at a press conference attended by Shafaq News Agency, explained that the initial cause of the fire, based on preliminary information, was an electrical short in a generator connected to one of the tanks inside the refinery. The tanks contained over 5,000 tons of crude oil and fluorine.

Khoshnaw noted that "in the initial phase of the fire, firefighting teams, along with Asayish (security forces) and police, worked to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other tanks located 10 to 15 meters away. Despite their efforts, the fire, exacerbated by steam and intense heat, spread to a second tank, which also burned and contained a large quantity of fuel."

The Governor reported that four civil defense vehicles and several other vehicles at the scene were damaged. Three civil defense personnel suffered burns and are currently receiving treatment in the hospital, while ten others experienced smoke inhalation.

According to Khoshnaw, the estimated losses from the incident amount to $8 million, including damage to the facility and vehicles.