A storage tank at a crude oil facility at Denham Springs in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, exploded at about 10.30 pm on Thursday 2 May 2013 (3.30 am on Friday 3 May, GM), prompting local authorities to evacuate 30 homes in the vicinity. The facility belongs to Denbury Resources and has two storage tanks with a combined capacity of 2300 barrels. It receives oil from the Lockhart Crossing Oil Field via a pipeline that is reportedly undamaged.
Fire teams surveying the burning oil facility at Denham Springs. Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office.
One of the storage tanks at the site is reported to have ruptured, though it is unclear if this was the cause of the explosion or a result of it, the other is intact, but has been described as 'bulging slightly from the heat' by a representative of the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in Livingston Parish. There were reportedly delays in fighting the fire as firefighters had wait for the delivery of fire retardant foam; with water being used to attempt to keep the surviving tank cool.
The location of the Denham Springs storage facility. Google Maps.
See also Double pipeline explosion in northeast Libya, Homes evacuated after Arkansas oil leak, Gas pipeline explosion in West Virginia, Two feared dead after explosion on oil rig in Gulf of Mexico and Massive sinkhole opens up in Assumption Parish, Louisiana.
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