Woman Burned in Refinery Blast
An explosion ripped through a storage tank at a refinery in Railroad Valley early Friday, sending one woman to the hospital and setting at least two storage tanks on fire, the Nye County sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff’s Capt. George Gumbmann said from Tonopah that the explosion was reported at 5:18 a.m. by an employee of the Petro Source Refining Partners.
An Ely firefighter who had helped fight the blaze said the incident occurred in another company’s tank farm about a mile from the Petro Source site. He said four tanks were destroyed and the fire was under control at noon.
Gumbmann said the woman, whose name was not released, was taken to William B. Ririe hospital in Ely for treatment of burns over at least 45% of her body.
The explosion and fire occurred in oil fields along U.S. 6 south of Currant, about 50 miles southwest of Ely.
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