Texas industry officials are responding to a chemical incident at a PEMEX facility in Deer Park that left one person dead and several injured Thursday.
The number of people injured is unknown, but one person was airlifted from the scene by the Life Flight helicopter, officials said.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the scene remains preliminary and fluid, but noted “the situation appears contained within the scene and no threat to the external community.”
In a statement to ABC News on Thursday, PEMEX Deer Park said the gas release was reported at one of its operational units at 4:40 p.m. CDT.
In this May 8, 2024 file photo, Pemex headquarters is shown in Mexico City.
GDA via AP, FILE
The facility said members of its emergency response team, Channel Industrial Mutual Aid (CIMA) personnel, Harris County emergency management personnel and other government agencies were on scene and responding to the situation.
While authorities assess the situation, State Highway 225 has been temporarily closed, the facility said.
“Some members of the community may observe outbreaks of flames as we safely bring the situation under control,” the facility said in the release. “We are closely monitoring air quality and are not detecting any off-site impacts.”
City officials in Pasadena, Texas, said in a statement on X that the chemical released was hydrogen sulfide.
The PEMEX facility is a refinery that processes crude oil from several countries to produce gasoline, aviation fuel, diesel fuel and marine fuel.
