Blast followed by fire at Azomures chemical works leaves one injured

An explosion followed by a fire occurred on Tuesday night at ammonia station 3 of the Azomures chemical works, with a man about 50 years old sustaining an upper limb fracture.

After the incident, a RO-ALERT message was issued to inform the population in the neighbouring area.

According to the Mures Emergency Management Inspectorate, the explosion occurred at around 01:00hrs, EEST.

The fire that broke out at the synthesis column at the ammonia plant of the Azomures chemical works was extinguished, and an expert team of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, led by the deputy inspector general, was expected to travel to Targu Mures.

According to the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU), on Wednesday morning, a military fire brigade of the ISU Horea of Mures County was asked to intervene urgently at the Azomures works, where an explosion took place followed by a fire with open flame and smoke at ammonia station 3.

The explosion left one with a fracture in his right upper limb, conscious, who was rushed to the Targu Mures Emergency Reception Unit.

"The military fire brigade acted quickly in order to locate the fire, which manifested itself locally at nearby equipment and at the pipe ends, in support of which came a CBRN crew to perform specific measurements in case of emergencies involving dangerous substances," DSU reported on Facebook.

"A team of experts from the General Emergency Management Inspectorate led by the deputy inspector general of IGSU will travel to Targu Mures in order to assess all aspects closely related to the prevention of such emergencies," DSU also said.

ISU Mures said that there is no danger to the locals or the works staff, but a task force was activated for the management of the event.

Azomures representatives said on Facebook that the cause of the blast has been identified by the operators of the installation.

No ammonia emissions were recorded on or off the platform, and there was no danger to the local community.

According to Azomures officials, the fire broke out during the start-up maneuvers of one of the ammonia production plants on the Azomures platform. One person was injured, received medical care at the scene and is out of danger.

"The situation is now under control, it is being monitored by the authorities, and the installation where the fire took place is fully closed," according to them, the quoted source also shows.