An Iranian ballistic missile that killed three people overnight in Haifa struck the Bazan oil refinery complex in the northern city, officials said Monday after a publication ban was lifted.
According to investigators, the victims had been sheltering in what was considered the most fortified room in the compound. The missile strike appears to have hit near the building they were in, sparking a fire and suffocating them.
The direct hit at the Bazan oil refinery compound
Part of the structure collapsed due to the flames, trapping the three under the rubble. Thick smoke filled the area, and the extreme heat left them with little chance of survival. Investigators believe the victims likely died from smoke inhalation and severe heat exposure following the deadly barrage.
The three victims were residents of Haifa and the Krayot (Haifa Bay area). Five workers had been inside the fortified room at the time; two managed to escape, while the other three were trapped and killed.
Although the strike had been broadcast overnight by Al Jazeera and other international outlets, Israeli media were not permitted to report that the Bazan compound was the location of the incident until Monday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Energy Minister Eli Cohen released a statement saying he had visited the impact site at Bazan, met with the company’s CEO, Asaf Almagor, and expressed support for the workers—a move that effectively broke the media blackout, even though no official change in censorship policy had yet been announced.
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This was not the first time Bazan’s facilities had been hit since the direct conflict with Iran began, but it was by far the deadliest. Over the weekend, the company reported a separate missile strike that caused minor damage to pipelines and transfer lines between facilities within the complex, but without injuries.
“As of the time of the report, the refinery units remain operational, though some of the downstream facilities in the complex have been shut down,” Bazan said in a statement.
The early morning barrage from Iran began around 4:10 a.m. Following hours of searching, the three bodies were recovered from the rubble. Two other individuals sustained minor injuries at the site.
Deadly direct hits were reported overnight in Petah Tikva and Bnei Brak. Four people were killed in Petah Tikva, and one person, 75-year-old Avraham Cohen, was killed in Bnei Brak. Heavy damage was also reported in parts of Tel Aviv following missile explosions in the city.