FBI: Capeco fuel depot blast was not terrorism or sabotage; fumes to blame

“It has been determined that the Capeco explosion was not an act of terrorism or sabotage. No evidence of any explosives were found at the scene,” said Fraticelli as he summarized the findings of a federally directed probe that employed 241 investigators and questioned 105 witnesses.

The FBI official said gas fumes were to blame for the explosion and fire that burned 21 of 40 tanks at the Capeco oil farm before firefighters finally snuffed the flames Sunday afternoon after a nearly three-day battle.

Fraticelli said a cloud of gasoline vapors covered a large part of the Capeco site.

“Then, an electrical source at the site sparked the first fire that then touched off the massive explosion,” he said.

Marcial Orlando Félix, head of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) in Puerto Rico clarified that fuel was spilled while a tank was being filled at the facility. The spilled fuel ran into a drainage that reached a water treatment installation, where the gases accumulated that set off the explosion.

“We are investigating three possible electrical sources that sparked this,” Félix said.

The ATF chief did not specify the electrical sources beyond saying that investigators had not discarded fluorescent lighting in the area.

The investigation’s findings are in line with the account of an AP source who cited witness testimony in the case.

The source said Wednesday that gases emanating from an overfilled tank could have caused the blast.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to gag order from federal investigators, said that a Capeco worker with 35 years of experience noted on the tank’s gauge that there wasn’t enough room for the fuel being pumped in from a ship docked in nearby San Juan Bay. The worker started filling the tank at 11 p.m. and then spotted the fumes leaking from the tank, the source said.

The source said the employee promptly went to alert a supervisor and the two returned to the tank in a vehicle. Noting the extent of the danger, they fled the scene before the first blast at around 12:20 a.m. Friday. The blast tossed the vehicle against a gate, the source said.

The massive explosion registered 2.8 on the Richter earthquake scale and was felt as far south as Caguas and Cayey.

The source said five people were at the Capeco facility at the time: the worker, the supervisor, two employees who were in the lab area and a single security guard. Nobody was killed or seriously injured in the explosion but motorists on roadways in the are suffered lacerations from automobile windows blown out by the blast.