Explosion rocks Bangkok oil refinery, starts fire

Black smoke billows after an explosion at the Bangchak oil refinery and depot in Bangkok, Thailand.

Police say a huge explosion has rocked an oil refinery in Bangkok and putting out the fire may take hours.

Police Senior Sgt. Maj. Phudet Leelahut says there were no immediate reports of casualties. It wasn’t known yet how many workers were there at the time.

The fire at the Bangchak oil refinery and depot was sending flames and plumes of thick black smoke into the sky over the capital.

Phudet says the fire is under control but several thousand litres of oil are burning and it may take hours to extinguish the fire. He says a leaking oil pipe may have caused the blast and workers have shut off oil valves.

The blast could be heard several kilometres away.