Flames burn brightly here at Venezuela's largest oil refinery in the nation's worst industrial accident in memory.<br/> <br />On Saturday, a deadly explosion ripped through the facility triggered by a gas leak, killing at least 39 people and wounding dozens more.<br/> <br />A day later, firefighters had the blaze under control, prompting crews to begin the massive task of getting the refinery back online.<br/> <br />The explosion comes after years fraught with repeated accidents and outages at plants run by state oil producer PDVSA.<br/> <br />Some residents nearby worried about the potential for even worse incidents.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) NELLY DA LUGO, RESIDENT SAYING:<br/> <br />"PDVSA should buy all of these houses and get us out of this community because we are at a very high risk here. We are the most affected in this community not only because of the gases but also all the other things the refinery puts out."<br/> <br />Critics blame the poor management on Hugo Chavez's government just ahead of October elections.<br/> <br />Venezuela is a top oil supplier for the United States and Caribbean area.
