No Fatalities Reported in Isfahan Refinery Fire

A fire that ravaged part of the Isfahan Oil Refinery on Monday was doused within an hour without major casualties, local authorities said.

A sulfur storage unit near the main processing facility of Isfahan crude oil refinery caught fire on Monday morning because of "an ignition that was sparked by friction between a loader and stored sulfur", news agencies reported, adding that the ensuing heat contributed to the incident. Isfahan Province is 450 kilometers south of Tehran.

Some agencies said "up to 100 people" suffered from the conflagration, with some in critical condition. 

In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry of Cooperatives' office in Isfahan said that all workers who were affected by the incident "were treated and resumed work", state news agency IRNA reported.

The report described financial damages as "insignificant" without providing any estimate.

"Wind spread the fumes and caused eye and throat irritation for 10 workers who were within 80 meters of the fire," said the report. It said nine people received medical treatment at the site of the incident and one person was hospitalized but released soon.

Mohammad Mokhtari, head of Isfahan refinery's fire department, told the semi-official Mehr News Agency that eight people were affected by the smoke created by the blaze.

"All of them were reported in stable condition," he was quoted as saying by Mehr later on Monday.

The media immediately drew parallels between the fire at the Isfahan refinery and a series of incidents across Iran's petrochemical and petroleum industries over the past year, including a massive fire in Bouali Sina Petrochemical Complex in the southern oil-rich Khuzestan Province in July 2016 as well as a blaze in October that ripped through Piroozi Oil and Gas Refinery in Shahroud, 400 kilometers west of Tehran in Semnan Province. No fatalities were reported.