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HUGE petrol depot explosion, now with pictures.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4517962.stm

Quote:

Massive explosions hit fuel depot

Eyewitness accounts
Large explosions have rocked a fuel depot near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire shooting flames hundreds of feet into the sky.
Police say there are 36 casualties, with two people seriously hurt.

The first blast happened at 0603 GMT at the Buncefield fuel depot, close to junction 8 of the M1 motorway and was heard as far away as the Netherlands.

The fire, which police believe was caused by an accident, could last days with more explosions expected.

The area around the site has been evacuated, while police have advised residents living nearby to keep their windows and doors closed because of fumes.

Police said the thick cloud of smoke was heading east, but was not thought to be toxic.

Earlier rumours a plane was involved in the incident were unfounded, said a police spokesman.

Witnesses said another two explosions followed the first at 0626 GMT and 0627 GMT.

The depot provides fuel for airports across the South East

In total, 20 petrol tanks are involved in the fire, each said to hold three million gallons of fuel.

Tanker driver Paul Turner said he ran for his life after the explosion lifted him off his feet.

"I just saw this great big ball of fire come up from behind the building. It was about 50 metres wide," he told the BBC.

"Then there was the loudest explosion I have ever heard in my life. I got up, turned around and ran to my car and sped out of there as fast as I could."

The M1 has been closed both ways between junctions 6a and 12.

The M10 motorway is closed in both directions between junction 1 and junction 7 as well as some arterial roads in Hemel Hempstead.

Motorists have been told not to go "anywhere near the M1 from the M25 upwards".

At Heathrow airport some flights were forced to delay landing because of smoke, but Luton airport was said to be operating as usual.

A spokeswoman said no flights have been affected by the explosion and the smoke was not affecting the flight path.

Many houses have been damaged, with some reporting feeling effects from the explosion as far away as Oxfordshire, while it was heard in Surrey and Norfolk.

Eyewitnesses reported buckled front doors, cracked walls and blown-out windows.

The Buncefield depot is a major distribution terminal operated by Total and part-owned by Texaco, storing oil, petrol and well as kerosene which supplies airports across the region, including Heathrow and Luton.

The country's fifth largest fuel distribution depot, it is also used by BP, Shell and British Pipeline.

Police said there was no indication the explosion would cause fuel shortages and warned against panic buying.

"We strongly advise against this as recent events have shown that panic buying alone can cause fuel shortages," said Hertfordshire Police Chief Constable Frank Whiteley.

A spokesman for Total said: "We are doing everything we can to support the emergency services and to bring the situation under control."

Concerned relatives can call a police casualty bureau on 0800 096 0095, or from abroad on 0207 1580125.

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What you can see in the picture, for those who don't know, is the millenium dome in the middle of London, and the smoke cloud.

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HOLY FUCK!

I was dreaming about Koi when this thing blew up, the howling of the shockwave shaking my room woke me up, still half alseep the bang went off.

My first thought was earthquake, at which point i promptly stuck my duvet over my head and hid. After the house didn't shake i thought bomb. I've got a mate whos a paramedic who txted me with what happened, made alot more sense. :crazy:

You can see the clouds of smoke from my window, the morning frost hasn't even begun to melt because no sunlight can penetrate it, it's like a huge fog sitting over everywhere, yet if you look out the otherside of my house you can see blue sky. I live around 10 miles east of the depot.

Do we have anyone from other countries that heard the explosion? There have been reports of the Netherlands and france hearing it.

I didn't hear it (kinda hard in the USA ;) ) but I saw pictures of it on the news when I got up this morning. The smoke cloud was freaking enormous.

I grew up with five oil refineries within a ten-mile radius of my house. Believe me, (sh) it happens. We never experienced an explosion or fire quite that rattled our house. But giant towers of smoke? Flames lighting up the night sky? Boiling clouds of orange smoke blotting out the sun? 100 fire trucks? Oh, yeah.

just what we need.... more "scarcity" of oil

while it does happen, just seems odd like when Windows 98 was being released that the memory factory blew up.

maybe I need a tinfoil hat.

Wow. Those shots look like Mordor did in the Lord of the Rings films...

Same thing happened where I lived in the early 80's. The house shook and we lost power since one of the smoke stacks was blown like a missle and took out a high intensity power line.

The beauty of destruction.

Man, that thing is crazy. It looks like a volcano.

oh my, that is horrible!
Couldn't hear it in California... didn't seem to make the newspaper yet, oddly enough.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cynthetiq

maybe I need a tinfoil hat.

Fold one for me too. Somehow I half expect this to raise fuel prices for the US as much as any other excuse that the oil companies can come up with.

And I'll hold off turning on the news so that the talking heads can get the "are there any signs of terrorism" questions out of the way.

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More of an idea of how much stuff actually blew up... :hmm:

I saw it on TV. That smoke pillar is HUGE! And the cloud... wow.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4520430.stm

Quote:

Depot fire crews 'to resume work'

The smoke plume could be seen for many miles
Fire crews tackling the blaze at a Hertfordshire oil depot may soon resume work after their efforts were halted, amid fears of a possible explosion.
Fires in 12 of the 20 tanks were put out within seven hours but crews left the site as a tank thought to hold an "extremely volatile" fuel was examined.

Police now say the tank is not as dangerous as first thought.

A huge plume of smoke continues to billow from the Buncefield depot, near Hemel Hempstead.

Explosions and fire at the site early on Sunday injured 42 people.

How the fire is being fought

Hertfordshire Fire Service chief Roy Wilsher said operations were halted at about 1500 GMT as he did not want a "human tragedy to go alongside the environmental tragedy we have already got".

Specialist oil industry firefighters are working alongside crews in conditions described as "very harsh".

Mr Wilsher has said he could not predict how long it would take to tackle the blaze, said to be the largest of its kind in the UK and Europe during peacetime.

Click here for a map of the area
Chief Constable Frank Whiteley told BBC Radio Five Live the fire service could return to the site on Monday evening.

"They're changing shifts over at the moment, they're also locating another water supply source and there are some logistics issues to sort out, but they will be back on site as soon as those issues are resolved," he said.

AERIAL IMAGE
What's what at the Buncefield storage depot

In detail

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, meanwhile, has told the Commons the government would provide support and assistance.

He said the explosion was thought to have been an accident but a full investigation would be carried out by the Health and Safety Executive in due course.

Mr Prescott said the emergency services and other agencies had acted with "speed, efficiency and dedication" and praised their "magnificent" response.

He said the plume of smoke was not toxic but is "certainly unpleasant and may affect people with lung conditions".

How the fire looked from space

In pictures

Mr Prescott said the government was working with agencies to get the most up-to-date information available about the implications for public health.

The Met Office said the heat from the fire had lifted the plume to a high altitude and that a north-easterly wind meant it now reached as far as Dorset.

The dry conditions mean there is no imminent danger of the rain becoming polluted.

Polluted rain could potentially prove toxic but due to the type of fuel stored at Buncefield and the foam used by fire crews, experts do not believe that such a situation would arise.

BBC forecaster Dan Corbett said the winds would remain north-easterly at about 5-10mph overnight.

Second phase

About 150 firefighters from 12 different services across England are at the site.

Before work stopped, Hertfordshire Fire Service said its operation to smother the fire with a foam blanket had been at a "critical phase".

"We were beginning work on the smaller tanks and moving on to the larger fires," a spokeswoman said.

The smothering operation could not begin until firefighters had gathered sufficient supplies of foam concentrate from around the country.

It involves six high-volume pumps and uses 32,000 litres of water per minute, much of it from a nearby lake.

Measures are being taken to stop pollution of the water table and river, with firefighters at the site trying to keep waste water in "bunded" or walled areas.

The Food Standards Agency said there currently appear to be no immediate concerns about contamination to crops or dairy herds.

It would, however, be studying results from the Health Protection Agency's environmental monitoring programme.

Schools closed

Police and council officials are to hold a public meeting with residents and business owners on Monday night.

Some 2,000 people are reported to have left the area after the blast damaged many homes and offices, shattering windows and blowing off doors.

A number of evacuees have now been able to return but residents have been advised to keep their windows and doors shut.

Depot fire still rages

In pictures

Dacorum Borough Council said it was placing 36 households in hotels on Monday night, up from 30 the previous day.

Oil firm Total, which operates the depot, has set up a telephone hotline - on 0870 400 0499 - to enable those whose properties have been damaged to log their details.

The M10 remains closed and police said they also temporarily closed the M1, which was disrupted for much of Sunday, in both directions between junctions 6 and 10.

Hundreds of schools in the Hemel Hempstead and St Albans areas are to remain closed on Tuesday.

One person admitted to Watford General Hospital in intensive care with respiratory problems has been stabilised. Another person in Hemel Hempstead Hospital was reported to be under observation.

Leaks denied

Police officers - including anti-terrorist detectives - are investigating the disaster, but say there is "nothing to suggest" it was anything other than an accident.

And a spokesman for Total denied there had been leaks in the run-up to the explosions.

The Buncefield depot is a major distribution terminal operated by Total and part-owned by Texaco, storing oil and petrol as well as kerosene which supplies airports across the region, including Heathrow and Luton.

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Must say that is one of the most stunning pictures i've seen of this so far. Big explosion that's for sure. Some people are going slightly too far when they say they could hear the explosion over 100 miles away. I live in the south of london not more than 50 miles and heard nothing. Also was up in central london today and saw no smoke, looks like i should have gone up yesterday. Still, one good thing that has come out of this are the impressive photos.

I wonder if someone will find these pictures hundreds of years from now when records are corrupted and wonder where the hell the Hemel Hempsted volcanoe got to? lol.

we got to worry about is when the rains start and it starts comes down I have friends in hemel and they have not been able to get home until this morning.

Petrol crisis for the country, possible large pollution implications

the photos are impressive though

The depot only stored 5% of all the fuel stord in the UK. Firstly, it should mean no petrol crisis - most of it was aviation fuel anyway. Secondly, make me wonder where the other 95% is stored?

wow that is crazy. Makes me think twice about going into the oil buisness