May 22. 2026. – 11:22 AMPhoto: Péter Magyar / FacebookCopyCopied to clipboardAt around 9 a.m. on Friday, an explosion occurred and a fire broke out in Tiszaújváros, and according to the town’s mayor, the fire was extinguished by 10 a.m. Prime Minister Péter Magyar later announced on Facebook that the incident involved Mol’s plant in the town and that there was one fatality. The PM expressed his sincere condolences to the family of the deceased. Minister of Economy and Energy István Kapitány and Zsolt Hernádi, Mol’s CEO left for the scene immediately.In a statement following the incident, Mol said that “An explosion occurred while restarting the Olefin 1 plant at Mol Petrochemicals’ facility in Tiszaújváros. Firefighters have contained the fire, and response efforts are currently underway. The incident resulted in a number of serious injuries and one fatality. Experts are investigating the circumstances of the accident.” The disaster management agency told Telex that several fire trucks had been dispatched to the scene, and a mobile laboratory had also been sent.Minister of Health Zsolt Hegedűs said that one person had suffered severe, life-threatening burns to the respiratory tract and was transported by rescue helicopter to the Clinical Centre at the University of Debrecen; while seven others suffered minor burns, some of whom are being treated in Miskolc, but added that the Military Hospital in Budapest (Honvéd Kórház) is also on standby.“I would like to thank the paramedics, healthcare workers, disaster response teams, and all responders for their swift and professional work,” Hegedűs wrote.President Tamás Sulyok expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased. In his post, he wrote: “I was deeply saddened to learn of the explosion at the MOL plant in Tiszaújváros. I offer my sincere condolences to the family of the deceased and wish the injured a speedy recovery!”For more quick, accurate and impartial news from and about Hungary, subscribe to the Telex English newsletter!Copied to clipboard