OIL FIRE EXTINGUISHED IN STAVROPOL TERRITORY

STAVROPOL, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - An oil reservoir exploded near the town of Neftekumsk in Russia's Stavropol territory at 3.02 a.m. Moscow time today. A bomb, which was placed under a local oil tank, went off, setting the reservoir on fire. That reservoir contained 5,000 tons of oil prior to the blast. The fire was put out completely at 7.22 a.m. Moscow time, RIA Novosti learned at the national Emergencies Ministry's regional department. The Stavropol territory in southern Russia, which borders on the Chechen republic, is renowned for its famous mineral-water resorts since times immemorial. Such resorts comprise the so-called Caucasian Mineral Waters area.

The tank was surrounded by a moat, which prevented any oil leaks, an oil-reservoir duty operator told RIA Novosti over the phone. The fire was extinguished by foam. Adjacent tanks, which were sprayed with cold water, never caught fire as a result.

The blast and the subsequent fire didn't threaten the residents of nearby Kamysh-Burun town, a source at the regional Emergencies Ministry department noted.

No one was hurt or killed as a result of this incident, RIA Novosti's interlocutor added.

Fourteen fire-fighting teams helped put out this blaze. An emergency command center, which has been established for supervising clean-up operations, is now holding its session at the site of the disaster. The session involves representatives of regional FSB (Federal Security Service), Emergencies Ministry and Interior Ministry departments.

Refined oil is delivered by railroad tankers from local reservoirs to Budennovsk, subsequently reaching Tikhoretsk in the Krasnodar territory. For its own part, Tikhoretsk delivers oil to Novorossiisk, what with tankers exporting such oil elsewhere.