(Updated) BREAKING NEWS: Massive Series of Explosions rock Southern England

Sky News UK ^ | December 11, 2005

[Big Bad Bob]

Reports of up to Four Explosions at a fuel depot Near Hemel Hempstead, North West of London, according to Sky

__________________

Update:

Explosion Near London


The first picture, taken by a Sky News viewer

Map of the area

Updated: 06:41, Sunday December 11, 2005

There has been a large explosion followed by two smaller blasts in the St Albans area, around 25 miles north of London.

Sky Correspondent Sky Meade has said he can see flames about 200ft in the sky and there appears to be burning fuel.

Speaking by telephone from his home, Meade described "burning tongues" of flames in the sky.

The first blast happened at 6.03am - the other explosions followed about 20 minutes later.

Meade, a seasoned war reporter said he can see what looks like "burning aviation fuel".

"This fire is extremely intense. It is a bright orange glow on the horizon," he said.

Witnesses have told Sky News they heard the blast near Junction 8 of the M1. It is thought to be centred around Bunsfield fuel depot, near Hemel Hempstead.

The blast was felt at Sky Centre - more than 20 miles away in west London.

It was so powerful it blew out the windows at a hotel in Hemel Hempstead. There are reports of injuries there.

And one witness has told how the explosion shook his mother's house and lifted the roof.

Witnesses have told Sky News that emergency services are converging on the area.

Sky News producer Anwar Tambe heard the blast from his home in Luton and is currently stuck in traffic on the M1.

He said blasts are "going off regularly" and debris has blown onto the motorway.

More follows...

[ExSES]

Whether this event was the result of terrorism or not, it will have quite an impact! Remember, we depend(ed) upon releases of strategic petroleum reserves following the disastrous hurricane damage in the Gulf. The Brits will be unable to provide such help to us now as they will be hard-pressed to deal with their own refined product shortage!

[texasbluebell]

Thanks for clarifying. I wasn't paying much attention to that tape.

How much al-jazz is paid? Probably whatever the going rate is these days, for stirring up trouble.

[GeorgiaDawg32]

it has to be, I mean it just has to be a spark in the empty fuel container..(sarc/off)

[lentulusgracchus]

The security guard's account of having smelled a strong odor of "fumes" is consistent with a big spillage accident.

Something like that happened with a natural-gas storage facility about 30 miles from Houston, about 15 years ago. A valve failed, and a cloud of natural gas formed near the ground and spread over a fairly broad area in the predawn hours, undetected and unchecked. Two women drove their car through the area about 7:00 a.m. and ignited the cloud. Their car was crushed like a beer can, they were killed, nearby buildings were flattened, and office towers in Houston swayed as the blast wave arrived two and a half minutes later.

No terrorists.

[BJungNan]

Are you serious?...because we're not. We're just having some fun with sarcastic wit (about Amish, Lutherans, etc.)

Of course I am not series (serious). Just having a bit of fun along with you.

[lentulusgracchus]

Seems a tad coincidental.

Yes, the timing's suspicious, and if someone is behind the explosion, the Scotland Yard will soon enough have their guts for garters (to borrow a phrase I like).....

The problem is that with these murderers releasing tapes every three or four months, everything that happens will be suspect until shown to be an accident. How many people wondered for days whether the French Concorde crash was sabotage, until someone walked the runway and found the actual culprit?

[BJungNan]

They're being sarcastic.

Yes, I know. I was just having a bit of fun along with them.

[lentulusgracchus]

It was the Mennonites. It's always the Mennonites, and nobody has caught wise yet. That's why they're getting away with it.

Will nobody wake up?!!

[Smile-n-Win]

I've always been saying it must be all those Shintoists who have been immigrating from Japan.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20051211/439bb250_3ca6_15526200512111129784407


U.K. Police Say Oil Blasts an Accident

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, England - Explosions at one of Britain's largest oil depots jolted an area north of London early Sunday, hurling multiple balls of fire into the sky, shattering windows and blanketing the area with smoke. Police said the blasts, which injured 43 people, appeared to be accidental.

But the powerful explosions felt throughout a large swath of southeast England including London, 25 miles away, rattled nerves in a country still jittery over terrorism after deadly transit bombings in July killed 52 people and four suicide bombers.

The oil depot is near Luton Airport and some residents reported hearing an aircraft flying low overhead shortly before the first explosion at around 6 a.m. But police said there was nothing to suggest a plane was involved.

"All indications at this stage are that this was an accident," said Frank Whiteley, chief of police in Hertfordshire, the county where the depot is located. "However, clearly we will keep an open mind, as with all investigations, until we can confirm that for certain."

Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups have threatened to target fuel depots.

Police said only two of the wounded suffered serious injuries. More explosions were expected for several hours at the depot, which stores 4 million gallons of gasoline, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel.

Total SA, the French company that owns the Buncefield Oil Terminal in a joint venture with Texaco, said the cause of the explosion was not immediately known.

Buncefield is the fifth largest of some 50 major oil storage facilities in Britain. The Total/Texaco reserves there account for about 5 percent of the country's oil supply.

Total said 400 tankers a day were loaded at the site.

BP also has a storage facility at the site, which was not damaged in the blast.

There were reports of panic buying at some gas stations, although companies said shortages were unlikely. The U.K. Petroleum Industry Association said it was working to meet demand from other distribution terminals.

Firefighters planned to use foam to stop the blaze spreading across the depot and adjacent industrial park. The 20 blazing tanks were being allowed to burn themselves out while firefighters and police watched.

"The fire is contained," Whiteley told a news conference in Hertfordshire. "Yes, it's big and it's going to burn for some time. But it is under control."

A dense pall of black smoke rose as high as 10,000 feet over the town of Hemel Hempstead and could be seen in satellite images, said Eddy Carroll, a forecaster at Britain's national weather forecasting office. The smoke also drifted over London, he said.

Whiteley cautioned that the cloud contained irritants that could cause coughing and nausea. People in the path of the smoke should stay indoors, he warned.

Hospital spokesman Howard Borkett-Jones said the smoke appeared to be of "low toxicity" but could cause chest tightness and coughing, especially for those people with asthma.

Forecasters were predicting a cold front for Monday that would bring rain to the region, washing the pollutants from the air and onto the ground.

"It's not clear to what extent it is going to be a serious pollution event," said Carroll, though he said burning compounds close to the site might pose a hazard.

Emergency workers wearing masks cordoned off the area around the oil depot, located about two miles from Hemel Hempstead. Authorities evacuated residents nearby as the plume of smoke moved slowly eastward.

Nearby Luton Airport remained open and flights were operating normally. A 15-mile stretch of the main north-south M1 motorway was shut after the blasts, causing severe traffic delays.

The blasts shook homes in Hemel Hempstead and many residents reported hearing a loud boom.

"Around 6 a.m. as we were sleeping, there was a mighty explosion - a thunderclap that woke me up," said Neil Spencer, 42, who lives less than a mile from the terminal. "It was fireball after fireball - truly amazing."

Duncan Milligan, who also lives in the town, said his house shook violently.

"I am about three miles from where the explosion took place but I can see flames high in the sky and smoke billowing everywhere. There is clearly a building on fire near the motorway and police and emergency services are everywhere," he said.

The explosion blew the door off its hinges at photographer Haris Luther's home.

"I thought the house had been hit by lightning," he said. "It sounded like an earthquake."

The Ramada Hotel in the town was evacuated after windows were shattered by the blast. Two guests received minor injuries from broken glass and were treated at the hotel, said Calum Russell, marketing director for Jarvis Hotels Ltd. All 187 guests had since returned to their rooms, Russell said.

Police said many roads and highways had been closed.

Britain's deadliest oil-related disaster was the July 6, 1988, explosion and fire on the North Sea oil platform Piper Alpha off the Scottish coast, which killed 167 workers.

In 1994, a blast and fire at an oil refinery in Milford Haven, Wales, injured 26 workers and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage. Oil companies Texaco and Gulf were eventually fined for violating health and safety regulations.

[Palladin]

It's old English folklore that the Devil runs around just before Christmas, causing calamities and the loss of souls.

Al Quaeda does the same thing.

Need we say, "The timing is suspicious"?

[MikefromOhio]

It's too early to call but an open mind is needed.

Nah Certain FReepers would rather blame and give innuendos instead of getting the facts first.

[AmeriBrit]

Well after a couple of hours sleep, talking to the kids again, and a cuppa while catching up on the latest, they still have NOT convinced me it was an accident. There's too many coincidences. The numbers, the threat, the vicinity and their continual unconvincing "is an accident".
Tomorrow will show the true picture of how it's gonna cripple the South of England.

[janetjanet998]

firefighters aren't even fighting it yet and police are staying away until the fire dies down,,how the hell do they know it was an accident?

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Don't you ever sleep? 8~)

[Dr. Eckleburg]

...and some eyewitnesses even claimed to see a plane crash into the facility. All this has been reported by British media.

Do you have any links for these reports?

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Coincidentally, the following thread was posted on FR less than an hour before the one we're on now was put up last night...


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1538138/posts

[papertyger]

Nah Certain FReepers would rather blame and give innuendos instead of getting the facts first.

My, how tolerant and open minded of you...

This ain't our first trip to the rodeo, Mike.

[COEXERJ145]

Nah Certain FReepers would rather blame and give innuendos instead of getting the facts first.

For a good number on FR, everything is caused by terrorism an is then covered up by the government. They just can't realize that accidents do happen. Put enough flammable material in one place and all it takes it one little foul up for the entire place to go up.

Remember the BP refinery that went BOOM in Texas a while back? It was clearly an accident and yet some think it was done on purpose by some terrorists who because BP employees with the intention of blowing it up. I bet if the Piper-Alpha disaster happened today, the same people would be screaming terrorism even though the cause was human error.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

I like your tag. Clinton was the first President to delete "Christmas" from the White House Christmas card.

Pity he wasn't the last.