Residents of Los Taques, on the west coast of Venezuela's Paraguana peninsula, have long lived in the shadow of the world's second-biggest oil refinery. Breeze-block homes back directly onto the refinery's tank farm. Many locals say that for several days in late August they noticed an unusual smell. It was "like a gas or something, it hurt the nostrils and made us feel dizzy", said one, Ramon Salas. Shortly after lam on August 25th he was woken by a huge explosion. The blast ripped off much of the roof of his home and blew out the windows.
展开▼
