Six people were injured,  five of them seriously, when a blaze broke out on Friday morning at the that Hellenic Petroleum (EL.PE) refinery west of Athens proper.

A 31-year old refinery worker was admitted to a nearby hospital with 70 percent burns over his body, while the other four were transported to other hospitals.

There was plentiful information on who was injured, to what extent and where they were transported, however, sparse information was provided on the cause of the explosion and subsequent fire – incidents which at petro-chemical plants can prove to be incredibly destructive.

According to reports, the accident occurred in a production unit during “routine maintenance” by a contractor, without any further details revealed.

The fire brigade arrived after the blaze was extinguished by the refinery’s crews and fire control .

The partially state-owned and operated refinery is Greece’s largest. It is located in the Aspropyrgos industrial district. Heavy black smoke from the blaze could be seen from site from the Piraeus port, south of Athens, during the day.