( AP ) - The Saudi state oil company said Tuesday that the death toll in an accidental explosion and fire at a natural gas pipeline had risen to 40.
The blast occurred Sunday as workers were performing pipeline maintenance near the Hawiyah gas plant in eastern Saudi Arabia.
Aramco initially put the death toll at 28. But the company said in a statement late Tuesday that the toll had risen to 40 dead, mainly workers from Pakistan and Bangladesh. It said that nine workers of various nationalities were also injured.
The fire did not disrupt gas supplies nor was there any link between the explosion and the OPEC summit taking place over the weekend in Riyadh, Saudis said, ruling out terrorism.
Aramco is the world's largest oil producer, located on the country's east coast. The Hawiyah plant produces 310,000 barrels of ethane and liquefied natural gas daily.