TIRANA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- A strong explosion took place Thursday night in the oil processing plant of Ballsh, Fier, central Albania, leaving one dead while five other employees were injured and sent to hospital, local media reported Friday.
Witnesses said the cause of such strong blast was the explosion of the hydrogen pump valve which led to a huge fire, causing immediate death of 40-year-old Shkelqim Muca and the first and second degree burns to the other employees.
Albanian minister of energy Damian Gjiknuri went immediately to the oil processing plant where he declared that it would be the prosecution the one to shed light on this incident.
Expressing the solidarity to the family of the victim and families of the injured ones, minister Gjiknuri explained that the ministry would provide more information after learning the real cause of this explosion.
Experts of the state technical and industrial inspectorate went to the plant. They informed Friday that technical regulations were not met.
Ballsh oil processing plant, the largest refinery in Albania, resumed production about a month after the facility had stopped its operations for several months.
