(13 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Irbil, Iraq – 13 June 2024
1. Close of flames rising from burned oil tanks
2. Various of burned tankers and fire engines inside the refinery
3. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Fakhir Talib, witness:
++SOUNDBITE PARTLY COVERED BY SHOTS 2 & 4 – 8++
“We heard an explosion and when we came out, we saw this big fire, and obviously it was the refinery that caught on fire. It was after 8 o’clock last night and the fire was getting bigger and higher. Several fire engines and firefighter teams came but they couldn’t do anything. It was useless. Thankfully there was no casualties as far as I am aware of. It is just financial loss. We are badly affected by this fire and refinery. If they have financial losses, we have a health issue. Our health is badly damaged from these refineries. We have patients that we must take them to doctors twice or three times per week and it is all because of the smell.”
4. Pan of smoke
5. Activity near site – smoke in background
6. Fire engine pulling in
7. Mid of flames
8. Wide of smoke
STORYLINE:
A massive fire at an oil refinery in northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region of Irbil has been raging since Wednesday night, injuring at least 10 firefighters and destroying three fire engines, according to the regional civil defense department.
Many firefighters suffered from breathing difficulties due to the thick smoke.
The fire broke out at an asphalt storage facility in an oil refinery on the Irbil-Gwer main road.
More than 40 firefighter teams are battling the inferno, according to the regional civil defense department in Kurdistan.
Thick smoke from the blaze has risen high into the sky, covering part of the city.
Municipality water trucks are rushing to supply fire trucks with water.
A Kurdistan Regional Government official, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to talk to the media, told the AP that the fire was caused by an electrical fault and was not deliberate.
The refinery, one of the largest in Irbil, produces gasoline, kerosene, and white oil.
It features extensive storage facilities and is a joint venture between the regional government and a private company.
A worker at the refinery told the AP that there are around 40 tanks of fuel at the site, each holding 18,000 liters, and half of them are on fire.
In Iraq, summer fires are on the rise, fueled by scorching temperatures, unreliable electricity, and lax safety standards in many facilities.
AP Video by Rashid Yahya
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