4 dead, 7 injured in Houston crane collapse

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'We'll get there'
Cameras are mounted around the plant and Roecker said the company hopes that video from those cameras will help it figure out what happened.

"As far as what happened today, we'll get there. Right now our focus is on the families and victims," Roecker said.

The Houston refinery is one of the world's largest for processing high-sulfur crude oil. The facility itself covers about 700 acres along the Houston Ship Channel at the city limits of Houston and Pasadena.

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Texas is one of 35 states that do not require crane operators to be licensed. Earlier this year in Dallas, city officials found that eight of 23 cranes being used across the city had uncertified operators at the controls.

OSHA standards require cranes to undergo annual inspections, but it is a self-policing mandate for crane owners. Federal law requires that inspection records be kept, but not submitted.

Roecker said OSHA and other regulatory agencies had been notified of Friday's accident.

Lyondell Chemical, a U.S. company, and the Dutch firm Basell were rivals until they announced a $12.1 billion deal last July to create one of the world's largest chemical companies.

On the chemical side, Lyondell produces ethylene, a crucial precursor to a range of other chemicals, as well as propylene oxide, which is also used in producing a variety of chemical products. Basell focuses on polyolefins, common types of plastic.