Bosnia oil refinery blast kills 1, injures 10

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The oil refinery in Bosanski Brod, Bosnia, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. Police say one worker has died and nine have been injured in a strong blast at a Russian-owned oil refinery in northern Bosnia. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

An explosion at a Russian-owned oil refinery in northern Bosnia has killed one worker and injured 10, the company running the complex said Wednesday.

The blast rocked the neighborhood around the refinery in Bosanski Brod late Tuesday and was heard on the other side of the border, across the Sava river in Croatia. The cause of the blast is being investigated.

Firefighters extinguished a huge fire early Wednesday.

Initially police said nine workers were injured, but the Optima Grupa company later said one more worker was hurt. All of the injured were out of danger, the statement said.

Media in Croatia reported that the blast created an oil spill on the Sava river which is being removed.

Optima Grupa said in their statement that there is no danger to people's health. An investigation will determine the cause and consequences of the blast, the statement added.

Residents said the blast was immense

"It was like lightning. It lit up my house and then there was a blast and windows got crashed," resident Uros Radic said. "My wife and I were sleeping and we jumped out of bed."

Dr. Milivojko Zubic, who was on the night shift in the urgent care center in Bosanski Brod, said staff treated nine patients, of whom six were taken to the hospital in the nearby city of Doboj.

The plant is majority-owned by Russian state-owned oil company Zarubezhneft and has the capacity to process 1.2 million tons of petroleum per year.