3 injured in Texas refinery blaze

A fire broke out at a West Texas refinery Friday, injuring at least three people and sending a huge black cloud billowing into the sky.

The blaze at Valero McKee Refinery began after an explosion, a sheriff's dispatcher in Moore County said. No other information was immediately available.

A nursing supervisor at University Medical Center in Lubbock said two patients were flying in, but their status wasn't known. Another injured person was taken to an Amarillo hospital, officials said.

Valero Energy Corp. operates 17 refineries _ 16 in North America and one in Aruba. The McKee refinery, one of six in Texas, has a capacity of 170,000 barrels per day.

Dumas, population 14,000, is located about 50 miles north of Amarillo.