EL DORADO, Ark., May 22 (UPI) -- Three people were killed in an explosion in Arkansas while dismantling a containment tank containing residual oil vapors, emergency management officials said.
Chad Stover, spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, said the three-person crew was working at an abandoned site for the Long Brothers Oil Co, in El Dorado, Ark., when a blast occurred Monday afternoon.
"During the dismantling there was an ignition of vapors inside one of the tanks. All three were killed. They were burned beyond recognition," Stover said.
He added that flames from the blast ignited a separate fire in a wooded area near the oil site, which was being fought by the Arkansas Forestry Department.
Names of the victims were not released.
The El Dorado Fire Department contained the fire at the oil site, CNN reported Tuesday.
