Oil from refinery blast slickens Nicaragua habitat: environmentalists

A massive refinery fire in Nicaragua caused an oil spill that has contaminated sensitive nearby coastal habitat, a nonprofit group here said. In the aftermath of the refinery fire at the Puma Energy facility on Nicaragua's Pacific coast, oil has slickened nearly one-half of a square mile of the nearby water and soil, said Victor Campos, director of the Humboldt Center, an environmental group. Meanwhile, authorities said Saturday they hope to soon have the fire contained at the facility, this Central American nation's sole oil refinery.