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| Fire crews tackle refinery blaze | Fire crews tackle refinery blaze |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Firefighters say they have put out an oil refinery blaze sparked after an explosion which shook homes up to 14 miles away. | Firefighters say they have put out an oil refinery blaze sparked after an explosion which shook homes up to 14 miles away. |
| Crews were called to the Petroplus Coryton refinery, near Stanford le Hope, Essex, at about 1130 GMT. | Crews were called to the Petroplus Coryton refinery, near Stanford le Hope, Essex, at about 1130 GMT. |
| Essex Fire Service said the blaze began on the ground floor of a tower and sent flames 100ft (30.5m) up the column. | Essex Fire Service said the blaze began on the ground floor of a tower and sent flames 100ft (30.5m) up the column. |
| The service said foam was used to bring it under control and a search of the area confirmed no one had been hurt. | The service said foam was used to bring it under control and a search of the area confirmed no one had been hurt. |
| See a map and satellite image of the refinery | See a map and satellite image of the refinery |
| Ten fire appliances and seven special units were called to the refinery which lies 30 miles (48km) from London, along the Thames Estuary. | Ten fire appliances and seven special units were called to the refinery which lies 30 miles (48km) from London, along the Thames Estuary. |
| Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive visited the site to carry out routine checks on Tuesday - the day before the fire. | |
| An HSE spokesman said the checks were not directly linked to the area where the fire broke out. | |
| At the height of the blaze, a huge column of smoke could be seen from about 20 miles away. | At the height of the blaze, a huge column of smoke could be seen from about 20 miles away. |
| Your pictures of the blaze | Your pictures of the blaze |
| Marion Coleman, who lives about 14 miles (22km) away on Canvey Island, told BBC Essex: "There was a massive explosion. | Marion Coleman, who lives about 14 miles (22km) away on Canvey Island, told BBC Essex: "There was a massive explosion. |
| "Our house shook, all the windows rattled and there were flames rising to the height of the chimneys at Coryton. | "Our house shook, all the windows rattled and there were flames rising to the height of the chimneys at Coryton. |
| "Black smoke was billowing up into the sky." | "Black smoke was billowing up into the sky." |
| 'No petrol shortages' | 'No petrol shortages' |
| Ray Howard is a member of Castle Point Borough Council which covers Canvey Island, Benfleet, Thundersley and Hadleigh, and lives nearby. | Ray Howard is a member of Castle Point Borough Council which covers Canvey Island, Benfleet, Thundersley and Hadleigh, and lives nearby. |
| "Some almighty explosion occurred, it shook my house," he said. | "Some almighty explosion occurred, it shook my house," he said. |
| "The next thing, all I saw was huge flames and smoke coming from the refinery." | "The next thing, all I saw was huge flames and smoke coming from the refinery." |
| Essex chief fire officer Mike Hardingham said shortly after 1500 GMT that the fire was "under control and is unlikely to develop further". | |
| "The process of bringing the incident to a conclusion is likely to take some time," he said. | "The process of bringing the incident to a conclusion is likely to take some time," he said. |
| "The refinery is a complex place and a number of areas are required to be shut down and managed in sequence to enable the situation to be restored to normal." | "The refinery is a complex place and a number of areas are required to be shut down and managed in sequence to enable the situation to be restored to normal." |
| Black smoke could be seen rising up. Picture by Lister Appleton | Black smoke could be seen rising up. Picture by Lister Appleton |
| The Swiss oil company Petroplus bought the Coryton Refinery from BP in May 2007. | The Swiss oil company Petroplus bought the Coryton Refinery from BP in May 2007. |
| The site is responsible for loading about 700 tankers a day to meet 22% of the UK's forecourt demand. | |
| Jon Barden, refinery manager, said: "The rest of the refinery is running normally and we'll work with our people to ensure normal production is resumed as soon as possible. | |
| "There will be no shortages, we can maintain the deliveries that we plan to our customers." | |
| The complex, which was originally commissioned in 1953, has a refining capacity of 10 million tonnes a year. | The complex, which was originally commissioned in 1953, has a refining capacity of 10 million tonnes a year. |
| Return to top | Return to top |
| Were you at the fire? Did you take any pictures? You can send them to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124. If you have a large file you can upload here. Read the terms and conditions | Were you at the fire? Did you take any pictures? You can send them to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124. If you have a large file you can upload here. Read the terms and conditions |
| Send your comments using the form below. At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. | Send your comments using the form below. At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. |