Oil tank of refinery in Port Dickson catches fire

SEREMBAN, May 22 -- Fire broke out at a storage tank of an oil refinery in Port Dickson this afternoon.

A spokesman of the Negeri Sembilan Fire and Rescue Department said, however, no casualties were reported.

He said 38 firemen from three stations -- Port Dickson, Teluk Kemang and Seremban 2 -- including members of the Hazardous Material Unit (Hazmat) were rushed to the scene after receiving an emergency call at about 4.15 pm.

"The fire affected a 10,000-litre capacity oil tank and fire-fighting operations are ongoing,” he added.

Meanwhile, Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd said the fire occurred at one of the crude tanks in its premises but no one was injured.

In a statement issued in Kuala Lumpur, Hengyuan said its Emergency Management and Response Team was triggered and the Fire, Rescue and Medical (FiRM) team was deployed to the site at 4.32 pm to extinguish the fire.

It said it was working closely with the local authorities to manage the situation.

Preliminary indications were that the fire was caused by a lightning strike, it added.

-- BERNAMA