Eight people were taken to hospital on Friday after an explosion at a refinery in Come By Chance, NL, about 150 kilometers west of St. John’s, police said. RCMP said some were seriously injured in the blast and had to be airlifted to St. John’s, although Cpl. Jolene Garland could not confirm how many. “The fire caused by the explosion has been contained, with no further danger to the construction site and all workers have been accounted for,” the Mounties said in a news release Friday night. Both police and the province’s Occupational Health and Safety department have launched an investigation into the incident, the statement said. Refinery owner Braya Renewable Fuels said in a statement earlier Friday night that the company would fully cooperate with authorities’ investigations. “We will do everything we can to support (the injured) and their families during this time,” the statement said. The refinery is a major source of employment in the town of Come By Chance and the neighboring community of Arnold’s Cove. Together, the two municipalities are home to around 1,200 people. The refinery produced oil before being sold in November, although it has been idle for more than a year amid the collapse in global oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic. Texas-based private equity firm Cresta Fund Management bought a controlling stake in the refinery and announced it would convert to produce renewable diesel and sustainable jet fuel. The facility and its operator were subsequently renamed Braya Renewable Fuels. As of Friday, that conversion from an oil plant to a biofuels operation was still in progress, a company spokesman said. Local police asked people to stay away from the refinery so as not to disrupt emergency crews or investigators. Later Friday, local RCMP in Clarenville, NL, closed a Sobeys grocery store parking lot to traffic so emergency aircraft could land and pick up injured. Garland said several aircraft, including a Cormorant helicopter, were called in to airlift wounded from the small hospital in Clarenville to the provincial capital for treatment. Prime Minister Andrew Fury tweeted his concern on Friday for those injured in the blast. “I have spoken with company and union representatives to share my concern and best wishes for the injured workers, their families, friends and colleagues,” Furey wrote. “Thank you to everyone who responded to this incident.” Federal Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan also tweeted about the incident. Represents the Newfoundland region of St. John’s South-Mount Pearl. “All of our thoughts are with the injured workers at the Come By Chance refinery and their families,” O’Regan wrote.
I am very sorry about the incident at the Come By Chance Refinery. I spoke with company and union representatives to share my concern and best wishes for the injured workers, their families, friends and colleagues. Thank you to everyone who responded to this incident. — Andrew Furey (@FureyAndrew) September 2, 2022 This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 2, 2022.
