Fire at Iraq oil refinery injures four

BASRA: A blast at an oil refinery in the Iraqi city of Basra triggered a fire which injured four people on Tuesday, an oil ministry official said, but production was not affected.
The ministry blamed an overflying coalition forces helicopter for igniting gas particles in the air and causing the blast in the southern port city, but the US military denied the claim.
Talking to a French news agency, Spokesman Assim Jihad said that the explosion occurred at a gas production unit at the refinery in Basra, the second biggest city in Iraq whose port handles 80 percent of all the country's oil exports.
The blast sparked a fire which was brought under control within two hours by emergency services at the refinery and civil defence units, Jihad said, adding that four people suffered slight burn injuries.
Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani has blamed an overflying coalition forces helicopter for the explosion, according to Jihad. But US military spokesman Patrick Evans denied the claim by saying, "Our initial reporting indicates that there was a small fire, which has been contained."
"The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, but I can say that the fire was definitely not caused by a coalition overflight."
The ministry has frequently raised the dangers of helicopters overflying oil facilities in the oil-rich Basra region, where many flammable gas particles are in the air, Jihad said.