Iran Latest: An Oil Refinery Burns During Ahmadinejad's Visit (Erdbrink)

A summary from Thomas Erdbrink of The Washington Post of the Abadan oil refinery blaze this morning, raising questions even as it provides information:

A deadly blast during the inauguration of a major oil refinery by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad killed 2 and injured 20, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported Tuesday.

Authorities ruled out any form of sabotage and instead spoke of an industrial incident caused by a gas leak at the Abadan oil refinery, one of the largest and oldest industrial complexes in Iran.

According to Mehr, a ‘testing machine’ exploded almost directly after it was placed in the area where Ahmadinejad was preparing to give a speech.

“Immediately after this explosion all those present left the scene and the president then delivered his speech in Golestan Club" on the refinery site, the news agency said.

The explosion caused a deadly fire and released poisonous gases choking an unknown of workers at the complex, Mehr reported. The fire is still raging and there is the risk of further explosions, the news agency said. Security forces have sealed off the site and planes have been dispatched from Tehran to help evacuate some of the wounded.

A worker at the complex said that at least 30 people had been killed, the Khabar Online Web site said, adding that German engineers who had been working on the site had refused to come to the inauguration after there had been problems there on Monday.

Pro-government media, the Islamic Republic News Agency --— headed by an ally of the president —-- did mention the explosion but stressed it was insignificant. “Due to a gas leakage there was a minor fire which was immediately put out by operational forces. The damaged section will return into production in coming days," IRNA quoted Mohammad Reza Zahiri, chairman of the Abadan refinery managing board, as saying.

In recent months Iran has been hit by a string of accidents, including several explosions of gas transportation lines that officials said were caused by “terrorists".

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