Fire crews battle fuel tank blaze

Firefighters have ruled out any criminal cause

Firefighters are battling to stop the spread of a blaze after a fuel tank exploded at one of Australia's biggest industrial complexes.

The tank containing seven million litres of ethanol exploded at Port Kembla, south of Sydney.

The blast could be heard 25 kilometres (16 miles) away and television footage showed 50 metre (165 feet) high flames.

One man suffered minor burns. A paramedic said it was "unbelievable" more people were not injured.

Workers were evacuated from the area as fire crews worked to contain the blaze.

"We are on a defensive operation to try and stop the fire spreading," a fire official at the scene said.

"We are pumping towers of water curtains onto the other tanks."

The tank exploded at around 1030 local time (2330 GMT Tuesday) at the industrial port 60 kilometres (40 miles) south of Sydney.

Fire service spokesman Robert Comberford told the Associated Press it was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.