2005: Massive fire at Buncefield oil depot
A series of massive explosions early this morning has led to an enormous fire at one of Britain's largest oil depots sending thick black smoke drifting up to 40 miles away.
Police say 43 people were injured, two of them seriously, after flames shot hundreds of feet into the sky at the Buncefield oil depot near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire.
The fire, which police believe was the result of an accident rather than a terrorist attack, is being described as the largest of its kind in peacetime Europe.
The noise of the explosions, which occured just after 0600GMT, is being reported to have been heard as far away as the Netherlands.
About 2,000 people living nearby have been evacuated, while police have advised others to keep their windows and doors closed because of the fumes.
The depot, situated near to Junction 8 of the M1 is one of the largest fuel supplying facilities in the country and maintains fuel deliveries to Luton, Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
In total there were 20 petrol tanks involved in the fire, each said to hold three million gallons of fuel.
Home
