A colossal blast at Irving Oil Refinery jolted Saint John, a port city of New Brunswick.
Flames and black smoke gushed in the sky for hours on Thanksgiving Day, but fortunately only four minor injuries were caused.
Irving Oil Refinery officials took on Twitter on Monday afternoon and confirmed that all of the contractors and workers were safely evacuated.
As an update on our Saint John refinery incident this morning, we now understand that all employees and contractors working on site have been safely accounted for. Several contractors are being treated for non-life threatening injuries in relation to this incident. 1/2
— Irving Oil (@irvingoil) October 8, 2018
On Monday, more than 3,000 people were present at the industrial facility spread over 78-acres of land– but most of it was under maintenance and shut down.
Almost all of them were contractors working on the turn-around.
Five workers having non-life threatening injuries were rushed to Saint John’s local hospital and all five were later discharged.
Gerry Graves, a local resident, was lying on his bed when the window panes of his uptown apartment began to shake.
When he gazed out, he viewed a cloud of black smoke over the refinery located at a distance of about two kilometres.
Canada’s largest oil refinery – Irving Oil refinery – is a local industry, with the Irving family’s name displayed across tanks. It produces more than 320,000 barrels of refined products a day.
Mayor of Saint John, Don Darling asserted that the city is functioning with Irving Oil and Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) to assess the situation.
The EMO is coordinating with New Brunswick’s Ministry of Environment to supervise the air quality.
Work Safe New Brunswick has started an investigation and asked folks to stay in their homes, away from the site.
Meanwhile, the refinery has been shut down and the operations will be resumed as per the instructions of the regulators.
