HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – An explosion at an ExxonMobil plant in Texas injured four people early Thursday, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
The oil plant said the fire broke out around 1 a.m. in Baytown, Texas, east of Houston.
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Video from the scene shows large flames and smoke coming from the oil plant.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said three people were taken by Lifeflight to be treated while one person was transported by ambulance following the “major industrial accident.”
Gonzalez said as of 2:50 a.m., there were no evacuation or shelter-in-place orders for nearby residents.
ExxonMobil released a statement just before 6:30 a.m. that its emergency response teams were still working to put out the fire.
“Our first priority is people in the community and in our facilities. Air monitoring continues along the fence line. Available information shows no adverse impact at this time. No shelter in place has been called for our community and neighbors. We deeply regret any disruption or inconvenience that this incident may have caused the community.”
A few hours later, the fire was extinguished.
— ExxonMobil Baytown Area (@ExxonMobilBTA) December 23, 2021