Explosion occurs at Turkish oil refinery during drills, but no casualties are reported

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — An explosion occurred at an oil refinery in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday, an official said, adding the situation was “under control” and there were no reports of any casualties.

Mayor Tahir Buyukakin told private NTV television that the blast occurred at the Turkish Petroleum Refineries company TUPRAS during “planned drills.”

A fire at the company’s facilities in Izmit, in Kocaeli province, was quickly brought under control by the privately owned company’s own emergency crews and no request for help was made, he said.

“There was a planned drill at TUPRAS. We were made aware of it beforehand,” Buyukakin said. “The negative (development) that occurred during the drill is now under control.”

Video footage from the site showed smoke rising from the refinery, which is one of Turkey’s largest. Izmit is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Istanbul.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.

The Borsa Istanbul stock exchange temporarily halted trading of TUPRAS shares, until the company provides a detailed explanation of the incident, NTV reported.

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