Amuay oil refinery fire

Venezuelan authorities inspect the damage at the Amuay refinery near Punto Fijo, Venezuela, after an explosion at the country's largest oil refining complex left at least 39 people dead.

Venezuelan authorities inspect the damage at the Amuay refinery near Punto Fijo, Venezuela, after an explosion at the country’s largest oil refining complex left at least 39 people dead.  (Yunior Lugo / EPA)

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An early morning explosion and fire at the Amuay refinery, Venezuela’s largest refinery, killed at least 39 people and left the nation’s most important source of auto and airline fuel out of commission.

Tower of flames

Flames and columns of smoke billow from the Amuay refinery about 200 miles west of Caracas, Venezuela, after an explosion at the facility, one of the biggest refining centers in the world.   (Yunior Lugo / EPA)

Smoke clouds

Smoke rises from a storage tank still on fire after an explosion at Venezuela’s Amuay oil refinery. A gas leak apparently caused the blast at the sprawling complex, which destroyed or damaged 11 tanks where propane gas, crude oil, naphtha and other chemicals were being stored.   (Leo Ramirez / AFP/Getty Images)

Watching the flames

People living near Venezuela’s Amuay oil refinery watch as fire rages around a storage tank after an explosion at the facility killed at least 39 people, injured more than 80 others and left about 200 houses and 13 shops damaged due to the shock wave.   (Leo Ramirez / AFP/Getty Images)

Evacuating

Members of the Rojas family pack their belongings onto a truck as they evacuate their home after a huge explosion rocked the nearby Amuay refinery, Venezuela’s biggest oil refining facility.   (Ariana Cubillos / Associated Press)