At 14:25 hours on 22 June 1992, a loud explosion shook Santa Cruz de Tenerife. “It sounded like a bomb,” recalled some witnesses. A leak of vapours and gasoline gases during the loading preparations at the Tenerife Refinery caused a huge fireball that engulfed everything in its path.
The toll was devastating: five workers lost their lives and several others were injured, marking the worst industrial accident in the history of these facilities.
How the fire started at the Refinery
Investigations concluded that the origin was the residual heat from the hydrogen-sulphurisation oven-1. Although it had been turned off after the leak was detected, its high temperature facilitated the ignition of the vapours, which came from a damaged flange of the transfer unit-2. It was at that point, located in the central area of the plant, where a dangerous fire tongue formed.
At that moment, four workers were attempting to repair the fault, while another was finishing his shift. The latter was caught by the flames and died instantly. The then-director of the Refinery, Javier Martín Carbajal, stated to DIARIO DE AVISOS: “I had just got out of the car when I heard a dry explosion and saw the flames crossing the street. It was shocking.”
The response from emergency teams
The refinery fire crew acted immediately and received support from the Santa Cruz Fire Brigade, who arrived within minutes from the nearest station. Within just over half an hour, the fire was under control.
“It’s a very sad and painful work accident. We regret not being able to prevent the loss of an exemplary worker and the suffering of their families. They were aware of the risks and acted with courage,” expressed Martín Carbajal at a press conference.
A tragedy that stretched over weeks
Two seriously injured individuals were transferred that same night to the burn unit of the Hospital Virgen del Rocío (Seville). Two others remained in intensive care at the University Hospital of the Canary Islands. One of them recounted, upon being discharged, that everything happened “in a fraction of a second” and that it was impossible to react.
The next day, the two patients from HUC were sent to Hospital La Fe (Valencia). During the flight, one died despite being on a medically-equipped aircraft. Over the following weeks, severe burns ultimately led to the death of all the hospitalized individuals.
A debate reopened in Tenerife
The accident reignited the controversy over the location of the Refinery in the heart of the city. It was not the first time something similar had occurred:
- 1966: accident at La Hondura wharf with seven fatalities.
- 1972: explosion during the repair of a spherical tank, resulting in two deaths.
- 1991: fire in the gasoline production unit (no casualties).
A study from the Medical Physics and Environmental Radioactivity laboratory at the University of La Laguna (ULL) revealed a 76% decrease in total alpha activity levels in aerosols after the closure of the capital’s refinery in 2013. This analysis, covering a period of 22 years (from 2001 to 2022), serves as a clear example of the impact that the activities of the oil industry have on the local environment and the health of its inhabitants.
Today, with the deconstruction of the Tenerife Refinery, it is hard to imagine that high-risk industrial activities took place alongside residential areas, which gradually surrounded the complex.
