Check into gas refinery inferno suggests criminal causes
One week after a gas refinery burst into flames in Haifa, special investigative team investigates workers, concludes it may have been caused by their criminal actions, both before and during the fire.
An investigation team from the Ministry of Environment charged with examining the circumstances surrounding a gasoline refinery which burst into flames in Haifa Bay last week has revealed that it may have been related to criminal violations.
A number of senior staff members in the refinery were consequently investigated in Green Police Offices. Among the accusations that are being looked at are offenses committed before and after the fire, possibly by the workers.
As a result of the outbreak forty firefighting crews were called from all over the country to contain the conflagration which threatened to spread throughout the vicinity.
According to initial conclusions, the firefighters said that the fire was caused by static electricity. After battling the flames for an entire day, the fire services were eventually able to reach the roof of the refinery and blast it with water from multiple directions as they brought the fire under control.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Environment on the matter, the investigative team submitted their initial conclusions in a report in which it was stated that, as mentioned, the circumstances could have been criminal with suspicions of a variety of violations relating to conduct of the refinery workers—both before and during the fire.
The investigative team is being managed by the Green Police and external professionals and advisors. It was also reported that the investigation examined aspects of conduct of the workers before and during the inferno along with the regulatory violations that were allegedly committed.
“The criminal investigation on these matters will be a top priority and the investigative team will act swiftly as they exhaust investigative actions,” the Environment Ministry said in a statement.
“Naturally, due to the fact that we are talking about an ongoing investigation which is currently at its (highest intensity), the ministry is prohibiting the release of any details pertaining to the content of the investigation. These details will be fully reported to the public, after the investigation has been concluded.”
Commenting on the matter, Minister of Environmental Protection Ze’ev Elkin refused to divulge any substantial details.
“It is not right to talk about the investigation. For that reason I won’t be addressing its content,” he said. “We will not let anyone off lightly. It is right that the investigators are doing their work. They received support from us. We are treating the incident seriously. We opened a criminal investigation after we saw the situation justified it.”
He went on to say: “It is no secret that the industrial concentration in the Haifa Bay is unusual, something which causes pollution in the area. On the other hand, many actions have been taken to reduce the pollution.”
