Explosion At Brod Oil Refinery In Bosnia Injures Several Workers

By RFE/RL's Balkan Service

A powerful explosion hit the oil refinery in Brod, in northern Bosnia, near the Croatian border on October 9 and several workers were injured, authorities said.

Police and firefighters have been trying to extinguish the the fire after the blast at around 9.30 p.m. local time, said police spokeswoman Dragana Kerkez.

'This was a strong deflagration and the detonation could be heard in Slavonski Brod,' Kerkez told Reuters, referring to the town just across the Sava river in Croatia.

Brod Mayor Ilija Jovicic said that some of the injured workers were hospitalized, according to Srna news agency.

Photos taken on mobile phones and published on Bosnian web sites showed a fire at the plant.

The Brod refinery is majority-owned by Russian state oil company Zarubezhneft.

With reporting by Reuters

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