Two dead, dozens injured after Texas oil refinery chemical leak

The Mexican state-owned PEMEX oil refinery in southeast Texas was the scene of a fatal hydrogen sulfide leak on Thursday afternoon, the city of Deer Park said. The leak killed two workers and injured 35 more, 13 of whom were hospitalized, PEMEX said in a Friday statement. Deer Park Emergency Services insisted residents were in no danger, but still implemented a shelter-in-place alert, telling citizens to deactivate air conditioning units and close all doors and windows. Authorities lifted the advisory Thursday night after air pollution reports showed no dangerous pollutants, emergency officials said.

The spill site is no longer a risk to staff and the bodies of deceased workers were recovered early Friday morning, according to PEMEX. Officials are investigating what caused the leak and operations have been paused at the units involved in the leak, PEMEX said. The incident marked the second threatening industrial accident to befall the Houston suburb in less than a month.

What else happened in the Deer Park area? A 20-inch natural gas pipeline exploded and prompted residents to evacuate in September, weeks before the PEMEX leak. The explosion ignited a pillar of flames that stretched hundreds of feet into the air and burned for days.

Dig deeper: Read my report on last month’s pipe explosion.