3 Injured in Crane Collapse at ExxonMobil Refinery

TORRANCE, CA — Three workers sustained minor injuries when a 300-ton crane collapsed at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance on Monday, a fire official said.

The collapse happened at around 9:30 a.m. and the refinery's emergency crews responded and notified local authorities, ExxonMobil spokeswoman Gesuina Paras told Patch.

"Our main concern is for the safety of our employees, contractors and the community," she said.

"There were three minor injuries," said Battalion Chief Bob Millea of the Torrance Fire Department. "They were not transported to the hospitals by the fire department."

The workers were contractors and they were taken to a local clinic for evaluations, Paras said.

There was no impact to the community, according to the Torrance Police Department.

The fire department has cleared the scene and the plant is flaring, burning off excess natural gas, as part of the stabilization procedure, Millea said.

There no active leaks, he said.

The plant was cooperating with local authorities in investigating the cause of the crane collapse, Paras said.

The refinery started operating again last month after it has been largely out of operation since Feb. 18, 2015, when an explosion caused extensive damage to the facility, injured four people and led to spikes in Southern California gas prices.

Federal authorities blamed a breakdown in safety procedures for causing the 2015 explosion. According to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, the trouble began six days before the blast when a problem developed with a piece of equipment known as an expander, forcing the plant's "fluid catalytic cracking" unit to be shut down.

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