14 killed, 100 injured in US refinery blast

Fourteen people died and more than 100 others were injured Wednesday in an explosion that ripped through a BP oil refinery in southeastern Texas, news reports said.

The fire at the BP's biggest oil refinery in the United States was extinguished hours later after the blast in the afternoon.

Initial reports said at least four people were killed in the blast in Texas City, about 60 km southeast of Houston.

An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the explosion, but BP officials said terrorism was not suspected.

The plant, which has 30 refinery units processing some 433,000 barrels of crude oil daily and employs about 1,800 people, produces 30 percent of BP's North American oil supply and 3 percent of the entire US supply.

Gasoline prices in the United States could rise slightly because of the explosion, according to the reports.

Source: Xinhua