Explosion at Montreal Shell refinery

MONTREAL – An accident late Friday morning at the Shell refinery in Montreal’s east end has sent two people to hospital.

A spokesperson for Shell confirmed that there was a "minor accident", and not an explosion as previously reported, at the facility at 11 a.m. Friday involving two workers. The men were employed by an exterior firm and had been hired to do some steam cleaning within the refinery using portable boiler, the spokesperson said.

A malfunction of the machine caused a jet of super-heated steam to shoot out at the workers. One recieved only minor injuries, while the other suffered serious burns to the face and hands. He was treated for shock at the scene and then rushed to hospital. Both workers were also being treated for smoke inhalation.

There were more than 300 employees in the refinery at the time of the explosion, but the Shell spokesperson said no one was evacuated in the wake of the accident.

A spokesperson for the Montreal fire department confirmed that one emergency team was dispatched to the scene, but no additional fire trucks have been called in. The refinery has its own fire crews to manage incidents that do not require large-scale intervention by municipal fire crews, the spokesperson said.

More to come.