Large fire extinguished at Venezuelan oil terminal

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By Mariela Nava and Mircely Guanipa

MARACAIBO (Reuters) -A huge fire that erupted early on Tuesday at an oil tank in Venezuela’s La Salina terminal operated by state company PDVSA was extinguished on Wednesday, authorities said.

The fire broke out during a storm at the facility used by the state oil company near Venezuela’s western city of Cabimas to store and ship crude between domestic ports.

Large balls of fire left a plume of black smoke and released hot steam, leaving a total of 24 employees and neighbors with minor injuries. Two explosions and the hot temperatures affected the tank’s structure, according to videos seen by Reuters.

On Wednesday, the fire was extinguished after more than 24 hours, said the firefighters in charge and the interior ministry, leaving the area blackened and covered with large pools of foam.

“It was declared completely extinguished,” Cabimas firefighters’ chief Mufid Houmeidan told Reuters, adding that crews are continuing to cool off the tank with water.

PDVSA confirmed the incident on Wednesday at crude tank 75012 and said firefighters stopped the fire from extending to other deposits. The neighboring Bajo Grande oil-exporting terminal was not affected.

Fires and power outages are frequent at PDVSA’s deteriorated infrastructure, often causing operations interruptions.

(Reporting by Mariela Nava, Mircely Guanipa and Deisy Buitrago; Writing by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Louise Heavens, Mark Porter and Richard Chang)