Alwaght- A huge explosion rocked the Israeli city of Haifa when a fuel storage tank in an oil refinery caught on fire on Sunday.
Emergency firefighting crews immediately arrived to the site, together with teams from the Haifa District Municipal Association for Environmental Protection, according to the Fire and Rescue Authority. The tank, which has a 12,000-cubic meter capacity, was around 10% full when it caught on fire, a statement from refinery said.
"There are no casualties and many firefighters are engaged in preventing the fire from spreading to the surrounding area," the statement continued. "The tank is not in the vicinity of production facilities."
There has been no mention to the cause of the fire as Israeli authorities say there should be an investigation over the incident.
Nonetheless, Environmental Protection Minister Ze'ev Elkin decided to open a situation room on Sunday morning, together with the ministry's director-general Israel Danczinger and senior staff members, as well as the Haifa branches of Police and the Fire and Rescue Authority.
The Haifa municipal authorities encouraged all residents of Kiryat Haim and Kiryat Motzkin to close their windows and doors and stay inside, due to the fine particle pollution caused by the gasoline combustion.
The Israel Police warned that as a result of the fire, Roads to the city would be blocked in both directions and requested that members of the public refrain from driving to the area.
