DALIAN - Firefighters have extinguished a diesel oil tank fire that ignited around 10 am in Dalian, a coastal city in northeast Liaoning Province, according to municipal authorities.

The blaze, at a refinery owned by PetroChina, one of the country's leading oil producers, demanded a force of 296 firefighters and 65 fire trucks, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Public Security.

A blast in the pipeline linking two oil tanks triggered the fire, the statement indicated.

No casualties have been reported, officials said.

The potential existed for a worse fire due to its close proximity to tanks of liquefied petroleum gas, aviation gasoline and other oil tanks.

Firefighters remain on the scene to guard against any further hazard.