UPDATE 2 - Bosnia: Blast at oil refinery kills worker

UPDATES WITH REMARKS OF RESIDENTS

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - An explosion hit the Brod oil refinery in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina late Tuesday, killing a worker and injuring 9 others.

The blast occurred in the town of Bosanski Brod near the Croatian border.

Police said in a statement that a refinery employee was killed and nine others injured.

Mayor Ilija Jovicic told local media that the body of the worker had been recovered.

None of the wounded are in critical condition and three have already been discharged after treatment, according to a hospital in Doboj city, 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the accident site.

Slobodan Vucenovic, a resident of the town, said the explosion sounded like a bomb.

"It was like a bomb, I can not describe it. [At first] I thought that it was an earthquake. I worried, I wanted to escape from the building, because I thought it was an earthquake, " Vucenovic said.

Vlado Petkovic, former employee at the Brod refinery, said that the entire building shook from the blast.

"I was watching television and something blew up and the building was shaking all over. I looked out the window and saw a big flame," Petkovic said.

He added, "I worked at the refinery for 15 years. I was already retired for five years and I'm sorry about those people. It was hard for me. They were my colleagues."

The mayor earlier told local media that the explosion occurred around 9:30 p.m. local time (1930GMT).

Firefighters are still trying to douse the fire.

Local media reported that the explosion was also heard in the border city of Slavonski Brod in Croatia and the flames from the refinery were visible.

People living in the two areas are extremely anxious, with most of them thinking it was an earthquake.

The Brod refinery is majority-owned by Russian state oil company Zarubezhneft since 2007.

The refinery, founded in the late 19th century, is the only processor and producer of petroleum and its products in Bosnia and Herzegovina.