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Tehran, Iran (AP) — On Wednesday night, a large fire broke out at an oil refinery serving the capital of Iran, causing thick black smoke to rise over Tehran. I didn’t immediately know if there were any injuries.
The fire struck the state-owned Tonguyan Petrochemical Company south of Tehran, said Mansour Darajati, director of the capital’s crisis management team.
Firefighters believe they have collided with a pipeline of liquefied petroleum gas at the facility, Darajati told Iran’s state television. He didn’t elaborate.
An Associated Press journalist in central Tehran, about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) away, could see black smoke rising in the distance. Another AP journalist saw the flames burning from the scene into the sky.
Iran’s emergency department spokesman Mojtaba Mirdie told the semi-official ISNA news agency that 10 ambulances and other equipment had been deployed at the fire site. Local hospitals are also waiting, he said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire. Temperatures in Tehran reached nearly 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday. Iran’s hot summer weather has caused fires in the past.
The flame came on the same day The fire struck the largest warship of the Iranian NavyLater it sank in the Gulf of Oman.
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