P.M. BRIEFING : Lightning Sparks Soviet Oil Fire
A direct lightning strike ignited a reservoir on a Siberian oil tank farm and spread to 22 acres by this evening, Tass news agency reported.
At least four of the oil station’s 24 tanks were ablaze, and 28 fire engines were fighting the fire at the Karkateyevy station near Nefteyugansk, Tass said. That is in the Tyumen oil region of Western Siberia.
The reservoirs at the station contain 380,000 tons of oil, Tass said.
“The danger is still great,” I. Kimstan, head of the fire-fighting directorate of the Russian Interior Ministry told Tass. Strong gusts of wind threaten to spread the fire farther, and he said he fears that water in the oil could boil and burst the tanks.
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