Rescue workers are searching through rubble for missing workers at Algeria's largest refinery and export port after a blast at a nearby liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant killed at least 23 people, including one French and one Turkish worker.
The explosion, the worst LNG accident for nearly 30 years, ripped through the vast petrochemical complex in the port city of Skikda, 500 km east of the capital Algiers last night, caused at least 74 injuries and shut down all activity at the oil and gas refinery complex.
Nine workers were still missing, state radio said today.
"We're working to remove debris and look for survivors and bodies," Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil told state radio. He said the cause was not yet known.
A French and a Turkish worker died in the blast, officials told journalists.
"We have halted the refinery of Skikda as a preventive measure to avoid problems that could result from the blast," Khelil said without specifying whether the oil installations were damaged.
The minister did not say when the 335,000-barrel-per-day refinery would reopen. He said the priority was to find survivors and secure the installations.
A shipping agent said the oil port was shut for exports and imports but Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said his country would respect its supply commitments to foreign partners.
Officials at the scene said they believed a boiler at one of the gas units was the origin of the blast, which was felt for kilometres (miles) and destroyed three of the refinery's LNG plants.
OPEC member Algeria, which has been hit by a decade of Islamic rebel violence, is a major oil and gas producer and has one of the world's largest natural gas reserves. It is a key supplier of gas to Europe.
Skikda is Algeria's largest port and handles the majority of the country's crude, refined and petrochemical products exports.
Officials said it was too early to evaluate the damage because it was so extensive, with metal, glass and concrete debris spread across the 92-hectare (227-acre) site.
It was the worst LNG accident since 1975 when about 40 people died in an explosion in Staten Island, US, said Andrew Flower, an independent gas consultant.