What happened

A fire followed by a powerful explosion damaged two fuel-oil tanks and an electrical substation at Ecuador's largest refinery, Esmeraldas (110,000 bbl/d capacity), forcing a suspension of operations. No one was injured, though five people were treated for minor smoke-inhalation effects and four nearby schools were evacuated. Petroecuador declared a 60-day emergency at the refinery, which supplies most of the country's domestic fuel and export volume. 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.