Explosion at huge Louisiana refinery injures 5

GARYVILLE, La. (AP) — A huge Louisiana refinery was rocked by an explosion and fire that injured five workers Monday.

Officials later gave the all-clear sign, but it was not immediately clear what caused the morning blast at the Marathon Petroleum Corp. plant in Garyville, between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Five contract workers were injured, Marathon spokesperson Joe Gannon said in an emailed statement. He said four were treated at the plant and the fifth was taken to a health care facility to be evaluated as a precaution. Louisiana State Police said authorities are investigating the cause.

According to Marathon’s website, the facility along the Mississippi River has a refining capacity of 578,000 barrels per calendar day, making it one of the largest in the country.

“Air monitoring was deployed in the community, and no hazardous levels of emissions were detected,” Gannon wrote.

Gregory Langley, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, said that during the fire, part of the refinery was placed under a shelter in place order, The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate reported.