Explosion hits Cape Town refinery
Astron Energy South Africa has confirmed an explosion at one of its refineries in Cape Town in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The explosion has reportedly left at least two people dead and seven others injured, although the company's Suzanne Pullinger has been unable to confirm this.
"The resultant fire has been contained and the plant is now stable,” she says.
“Our priority is to ensure the safety of all those on-site and further information will be provided as soon as we have confirmed the details.”
MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Anton Bredell says there is no risk to the community.
"The incident is reported to have been on the production side, not storage side. At this stage, information is still coming in but there are no current concerns about pollution or increased risk for the community to be concerned about following from this incident.”
Bredell says firefighters and rescue services will remain on the scene until operations have been concluded.