A massive fire broke out following an explosion at the Pemex Deer Park oil refinery near Houston, Texas, according to local media reports published on Friday, prompting all employees to be evacuated.
The refinery is jointly operated by Mexico's gas company Pemex and the petrochemicals arm of British energy giant Shell Chemicals. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed that multiple government agencies responded to the explosion at Shell's side of the plant near Beltway 8 and SH 225, containing the fire about three hours later.
Five people were injured in the accident after getting exposed to chemicals burned in the fire. However, it's still unclear what caused the explosion at the chemical facility. "The cause of the explosion will be the subject of a future investigation," Shell noted.
