Houston petrochemical fire spreads, eight giant tanks burning: official

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A petrochemical fire at a storage facility outside Houston spread on Tuesday to engulf eight giant tanks containing liquid fuels, officials of Intercontinental Terminals Co said on Tuesday afternoon.

The fire started Sunday at the Mitsui & Co subsidiary along the Houston Ship Channel and has spread despite efforts to contain the blaze, which is fed by tanks holding 80,000 barrels each of liquids used in gasoline.

It would be another day before firefighters would know how much longer the inferno would last, said Ray Russell, a spokesman for Channel Industries Mutual Aid, which coordinates firefighting efforts among area energy plants. No injuries have been reported.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by James Dalgleish)