WASHINGTON - The death toll from a Texas oil refinery blast rose to 15 Thursday with the discovery of the body of a missing worker, the plant's British operator BP said.
"It's 15 including the person who was not accounted for previously," BP chief executive John Browne told a hastily convened press conference in Texas City that was relayed by US networks.
Lord Browne said he had flown to the site of the blast at the huge Texas City petrochemical complex, south of Houston, to see for himself the extent of the damage caused in Wednesday's explosion.
He added that he wanted to assure employees "that the full resources of BP will be made available to help the bereaved, the injured and all others affected by the explosion and the fire".
Browne said the blast's cause was still being investigated, but that it occurred when a unit of the refinery that adds octane to gasoline (petrol) was being brought back up after being shut down for routine maintenance.
"There is no limit to the amount of activity that we've undertaken in Texas City to make it a very safe plant. It is a very safe plant. However, we don't understand at the moment what happened here," he said.
03/24/2005 17:54 GMT