What happened

An explosion around 4am destroyed a major unit at the Astron Energy refinery in Milnerton, Cape Town, killing two workers and injuring six others; the resulting fire was contained and work on the plant suspended. A later inquest found the blast was caused by safety-protocol violations: gas valves were not properly closed, allowing gas into a furnace during post-maintenance startup, and the shift leader lit the furnace without waiting for a required back-up colleague. This was an accidental incident at a licensed industrial refinery, not an attack.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.