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Empresas y finanzas

At least 8 die in fire in Russian oil sludge firm


    MOSCOW (Reuters) - At least eight workers died after fire broke out in an oil sludge-processing firm on Saturday in the West Siberian region of Khanty-Mansiisk, the hinterland of Russian crude production, the Emergencies Ministry said.

    The fire at a sludge storage has been put out, the ministry said in a statement. The Investigation Committee said the cause of fire could be an explosion, while the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency said, citing a law-enforcement source, the plant caught fire after gas exploded.

    The ministry said eight more people were injured after the fire was reported at 0950 Moscow time (6:50 a.m. British time) at the plant, owned by the private Invest-Oil company.

    According to some estimates, more than 3 million tonnes of sludge is being generated in Russia as a result of oil and gas production and refining.

    (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by James Jukwey)