A storage tank caught fire at an oil refinery in northern Japan on Sunday as aftershocks jolted the region following a powerful earthquake two days earlier. No injuries were reported.

Storage tank catches fire at an oil refinery belonging to Japan's largest oil company Idemitsu Co., in Tomakomai, northern Japan Sunday, Sept. 28, 2003 after it was jarred open by aftershocks from a powerful earthquake two days ago. No injuries were reported.   [AP]

It was the second time in three days that firefighters battled a quake-related blaze at the refinery, run by one of Japan's largest oil companies, Idemitsu Co., and located in the northern town of Tomakomai. A magnitude 8 quake hit the area Friday, setting off a fire in another tank that consumed 188,700 barrels, of crude oil.

Aftershocks as strong as magnitude 5.4 continued to rattle the region Sunday, but there were no new reports of injuries. Two fishermen were missing and believed to have been swept out to sea by tsunami waves triggered by Friday's temblor.

The fire broke out in the morning in a 80-foot- high storage tank containing naphtha, a flammable liquid produced when petroleum is distilled. It was still burning 12 hours later, sending a plume of black smoke into the air.

Refinery workers discovered Saturday that naphtha had sloshed atop the cover of the tank, which was apparently jarred out of position by Friday's quake, said Tomoki Ohira, an Idemitsu spokesman in Tokyo.

He said it was unclear what caused the liquid to ignite Sunday. It happened while workers sprayed fire-extinguishing foam as a protective measure. Earlier, media reports suggested that friction caused by aftershocks may have been to blame.

Firefighters worked into the night to douse the blaze with chemicals and drain the tank, a task expected to last through Monday, a disaster official in Tomakomai said on condition of anonymity.

About 570 people were hurt in the quake that struck northern Japan early Friday, but most of the injuries were minor. The temblor was centered deep under the seabed about 60 miles off the coast.

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