HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, England – Explosions ripped through a major fuel depot north of London on Sunday, injuring dozens of people, blowing doors off nearby homes and sending fireballs and massive clouds of black smoke into the sky.
Police said the blasts, felt throughout a large swath of southeast England, appeared to be accidental, though they occurred just four days after an al-Qaida videotape appeared on the Internet calling for attacks on facilities carrying oil “stolen” from Muslims in the Middle East.
The cause of Sunday’s disaster was not immediately known, said Total SA, the French oil company that operates the Buncefield terminal in a joint venture with Texaco. The British subsidiary, Total UK, said in a statement it was in contact with police and security forces.
Residents said shock waves destroyed indoor light bulbs and cracked walls and ceilings.
“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 Buncefield terminal. “It was fireball after fireball, truly amazing.”
The blast destroyed the front door of photographer Haris Luther’s house.
“I thought the house had been hit by lightning,” Luther, 57, said. “It sounded like an earthquake.”
Most of the 43 people injured were treated at nearby hospitals and released after suffering cuts and bruises from shattering windows in Hertfordshire county, about 25 miles north of London. But at least two men were hospitalized, including a plant worker in serious condition, said Howard Bortkett-Jones, medical director of the two local hospitals.
Noxious fumes from the fire, which left some people coughing, also affected the large number of police who sealed off the area and evacuated nearly 300 people to a bowling alley being used as a temporary shelter. About 25 police officers complained of problems such as chest tightness and shortness of breath, Bortkett-Jones said.
There were several blasts at Buncefield terminal, which stores 4 million gallons of gasoline, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel, and officials warned that more explosions could occur because it will take days to extinguish the inferno.
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