Investigators search for cause of New Mexico oil refinery fire that killed 2, injured 2 others

Investigators search for cause of NM refinery fire

Federal and state investigators were probing blackened debris Wednesday at a southeastern New Mexico oil refinery where a storage tank explosion killed two Texas men and critically injured two others.

Authorities say warning sirens sounded just before 1 p.m. Tuesday at Navajo Refinery, which sits at the intersection of U.S. 82 and U.S. 285 in Artesia.

The plant was evacuated, but authorities said there was no need for evacuations of nearby businesses or homes only blocks away.

Firefighters outside the station heard the explosion less than half a mile away, Artesia Fire Chief J.D. Hummingbird said. He went outside and saw thick, black smoke at the same time a 911 call came in.

“We knew we had a problem,” he said.

The body of one of the Texas men was found at the site Tuesday, and authorities Wednesday afternoon were still seeking the body of the second man, who is presumed dead, police Sgt. Lindell Smith said.

Smith identified the men as Natividad Andajo of Odessa, Texas, and Victor Villa of Midland, Texas.

Authorities couldn’t immediately say which man’s body was found Tuesday. The body was sent to the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque for an autopsy and identification.

Two other workers were airlifted to a Lubbock, Texas, hospital. Their names weren’t released.

One was listed in critical condition Wednesday afternoon, while the other was in critical but stable condition, Smith said.

All four workers were employed by a contractor at the refinery, Northwest Insulation of Texas.

The accident occurred in an area away from other tanks and the main plant, authorities said.

“We were lucky the wind was cooperating. It was blowing the smoke away from the refinery and the city. The public was never in danger,” Hummingbird said.

Navajo Refinery’s fire brigade fought the blaze, while the Artesia department sent ambulances.

The 24-hour Artesia plant refines oil into diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, and other products, including asphalt. The plant has the capacity to handle about 95,000 oil barrels a day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Web site.

Artesia police and fire officials said the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration was investigating. A team from the state Environment Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Bureau was helping with the probe, department spokeswoman Marissa Stone Bardino said.

Investigators are still carefully searching the area around the incident, and don’t want to disturb any evidence that might show what happened, Smith said.

Navajo Refinery was operating normally Wednesday.