Fire is seen at the Xingang harbor, where a blast involving two pipelines took place on July 16, in Dalian, a port city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, Oct. 24, 2010. [Xinhua]

Fire broke out Sunday afternoon at the scene of a July 16 blast involving two oil pipelines in Dalian, a port city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, though no casualties have been reported, local authorities said.

Officials said the fire was caused by the remaining oil in a tank which had been emptied before workers tried to remove it at 4:10 PM, said Li Minghui, deputy commander of the Liaohe Oilfield Construction Group of the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC).

The tank, owned by CNPC, caught fire on July 16 when two pipelines at Dalian Xingang Harbor exploded.

Sparks caused when cutting through the tank's metal casing might have ignited Sunday's fire, Li said.

Due to the small amount of remaining oil in the tank, officials believe the fire will be quickly brought under control, Li said.

Also, there is no possibility that oil will seep into the sea, he said.

As of 10:30 p.m. the fire had not yet been extinguished. More than 370 firefighters with 70 fire engines were working to put out the fire and prevent it from spreading to nearby tanks.

The fire caused by the July 16 explosion took more than 1,000 firefighters and policemen 15 hours to extinguish. That explosion also was blamed for the ensuing pollution after oil leaked into the sea.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2010)