Stanlow oil refinery fire: Major facility evacuated after large blaze breaks out in Cheshire
Incident at second-largest plant in Britain sees hundreds of workers moved to safety
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Hundreds of workers were evacuated from a major UK oil refinery after a large fire broke out at the plant.
Flames and clouds of thick black smoke could be seen from miles away pouring from Stanlow Oil Refinery, in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, in images posted online.
All staff at the site have been evacuated and are accounted for, the plant’s operator, Essar Oil UK, said in a statement.
The firm added the blaze had broken out at a chemical manufacturing building on the site and had not affected the refinery itself.
“Both the site emergency services and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service are in attendance to deal with the incident,” it said.
“All personnel have been accounted for. Refinery operations at Stanlow remain unaffected.”
The refinery employs more than 900 staff and an additional 500 on-site contractors, according to Essar figures.
Brian Howell, 60, said he was relaxing in the Eastham Ferry area, around eight miles away, before he “heard a loud 'whoosh' type explosion”.
“I looked over to Stanlow and there was an aggressive fire and lots of black smoke,” he said.
Cheshire Fire Service said it was called to the blaze at 2.16pm on Wednesday afternoon and had contained the flames by around 3.30pm.
Crews remain at the site to extinguish remaining pockets of fire.
Stanlow is the second-largest refinery in the UK after Fawley in Hampshire and provides around a sixth of the country’s petrol needs.
It produces an estimated 4.4 billion litres of diesel and three billion litres of petrol annually.
Additional reporting by PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments