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Large oil depot explosion on Hemel Hempstead
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| Jackson |
| quote: | LONDON (Reuters) - A series of explosions and a massive fire erupted at a fuel depot north of London before dawn on Sunday and sent a large column of black smoke into the sky, witnesses said.
"There was an explosion in the vicinity of Buncefield depot at about 6:04 a.m. British time, a Hertfordshire police spokeswoman said.
"We have got no figure for casualties.
Obviously we are at the scene but it is difficult to gauge because of all the smoke," she said.
The Buncefield oil depot supplies petrol and fuel oils for a large part of southeast England. Oil is brought to the depot, near the town of Hemel Hempstead, in an underground pipeline from tankers unloading on Britain's east coast.
Several other witnesses reported a series of explosions.
"We can confirm reports of an explosion near the terminal ... Firm details about the incident are not yet known. Our first priority is to ensure the safety of all those affected," Ian Hutchinson, a spokesman for Total Oil told BBC Television.
The depot is jointly run by oil companies Total and Texaco.
Mike Carlish, who lives less than 4 km (3 miles) from the Buncefield depot, near the commuter town of Hemel Hempstead, said he had been woken by a "blinding white flash" that had been powerful enough to knock the plaster off the ceiling in his house a little after 6 a.m. British time.
"Smoke is spiralling over 200 feet into the air. It is not under control," he told Reuters by telephone.
Carlish said people lived within two miles of the depot, closer than him.
He said police had closed the nearby M1 motorway in both directions.
Another witness, identified only as Heather, said she heard a loud blast near Hemel Hempstead and could see sheets of flame soaring into the sky.
"There is a fuel depot nearby," she told BBC Television. "There are lots of houses damaged."
A Reuters witness said the blast was heard as far away as northwest London, 40 km (25 miles) away.
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Just watched it on Sky news, people say they felt the blast as far away as Bristol and an eyewitness said that a DHL depot about 1/2 mile from the explosion was knocked flat!
I'll try to post pics in a bit when they become availible. |
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| MaRt |
| Woah. The live news coverage is absolutely incredible - this is a HUGE fire likely to be burning for a very long time. :eek: The plume of smoke looks like something you might expect from a volcano. |
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| Ian |
jebus
to give this an idea for the americans, it's like the fuel explosion at the place in texas |
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| Ian |
that is one amazing pic :D |
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| Clovis86 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Ian
that is one amazing pic :D |
I was just gonna say...
...reminds me of the chemical explosion we had in France in 2001. |
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| narcism |
| quote: | Originally posted by Ian
that is one amazing pic :D |
its pretty in a destructive way :D |
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| jamie |
It woke me up!
looks like its gonna cause panic fuel buying as well
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| Marc Summers |
| quote: | Originally posted by jamie
looks like its gonna cause panic fuel buying as well
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even in US?! I hope not!
I take a liking to $2.10 for super/premium! |
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| Ygrene |
| quote: | Originally posted by Marc Summers
even in US?! I hope not!
I take a liking to $2.10 for super/premium! |
No joke, I paid like $1.90 for regular in Tom's River the other day and I did a happy dance. |
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| Purple |
| quote: | Originally posted by Marc Summers
even in US?! I hope not!
I take a liking to $2.10 for super/premium! |
Wait for monday when oil will open 5 dollars up on Exchange. |
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| MarathonMan |
| I'm about 20/30 miles away in North London and the clouds are black and heavy with the smoke! Very eerie to look at - f*ckin' incredible! :eek: |
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