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| Grangemouth 'gas leak': Major incident at huge Scottish oil refinery | Grangemouth 'gas leak': Major incident at huge Scottish oil refinery |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Police in Scotland have evacuated a major oil refinery after a suspected gas leak. | |
| Emergency services, including a hazardous response unit, are at the Ineos petrochemical plant in Grangemouth, near Falkirk, 20 miles west of Edinburgh. | |
| People living nearby described hearing “air raid sirens” coming from the site shortly after midday. | People living nearby described hearing “air raid sirens” coming from the site shortly after midday. |
| Members of the public were advised to stay inside, with the plant evacuated and local roads closed. | |
| Eight fire engines and around 40 fire fighters from Scotland's Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) are at the scene. | |
| There have been no reports of any injuries. | |
| A spokesman for SFRS said: “At 12.12pm on Tuesday, May 2 the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was alerted to reports of a gas leak at the Grangemouth petrochemical site. | |
| “Eight appliances are currently in attendance to assist emergency service partners.” | |
| The refinery provides the bulk of fuels used in Scotland and also supplies parts of northern England. | The refinery provides the bulk of fuels used in Scotland and also supplies parts of northern England. |
| Ineos said in a tweet that “an incident has occurred at its Grangemouth site. Gathering details. Standby for more information". | |
| The petrochemical plant at Grangemouth was threatened with closure in 2013 amid a dispute with the union Unite. | |
| Up to 1,400 jobs were put at risk but a deal was eventually reached and the site was able to remain open. | |
| In 2008, about 70 North Sea platforms were forced to shut down or reduce production when a strike at Grangemouth temporarily closed the terminal. | |
| Grangemouth produces around nine million litres of fuels each day and one million tonnes of petrochemicals every year. | |
| It provides aviation fuel for Scotland's major airports at Glasgow, Edinburgh and Prestwick, and also supplies fuel for the Rolls Royce engine testing facility in Derby. | |
| Ineos says the site contributes four per cent of Scottish GDP and makes up approximately eight per cent of Scotland's manufacturing base. | |
| More follows… | More follows… |