Two people were seriously injured when massive explosions ripped through an oil terminal in south-eastern England today.
They were among 39 casualties following a series of blasts which rocked the Buncefield depot near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, police said. The force of the blasts could be heard up to 40 miles away as flames shot more than 200 feet into the sky.
Ten people who were on the site when the blasts occurred have all been accounted for.
Around 2,000 people were evacuated from their homes in the aftermath of the blasts.
Despite residents reporting they heard the sound of a plane overhead before the explosions, Hertfordshire Police Chief Constable Frank Whiteley told a news conference they are treating the incident as an accident. He said it was "miraculous" that no-one had been killed.
The first blast happened just after 6am at the fuel terminal in Leverstock Green, Herts, close to junction 8 of the M1. The depot - which holds huge stocks of various fuels - also supplies aviation fuel for Heathrow and Luton airports.
Hertfordshire Police had begun a major investigation into the fire with police from neighbouring forces in London, Essex and Bedfordshire drafted in to help with the situation.
Mr Whiteley said officers had also been in contact with anti-terrorist officers who were carrying out investigations as part of the inquiry. He said other fuel terminals and refineries around the UK were also aware of what had happened and government officials and police were making necessary security checks at other fuel terminals.
A thick plume of smoke rising from the flames could clearly be seen by satellite pictures spreading east, west and southwards.
Mr Whiteley advised people near the blast site to stay indoors.
"This cloud, not least because it does contain heavy smoke, is an irritant, and would certainly make people who inhale it potentially cough, potentially irritate the eyes, and potentially feel nauseous."
He said 100 police officers were at the scene alongside more than 100 firefighters. It is thought the fire could continue burning for several days.
Police said the depot was divided into two halves and one half had been destroyed. A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said it was monitoring the explosions. "We will be investigating the incident but at the moment the emergency services are taking the lead. "The site must be made safe before we can send our investigators in."
A spokeswoman for Luton airport, the nearest major airport to the blast scene, said that flights were taking off and landing normally at the Bedfordshire airport, with no delays. Although, flights at Heathrow airport, already hit by thick, early morning, fog were affected by the thick smoke.
PA