Pembrokeshire oil refinery blast causes fire

03 June 2011

Posted by Samuel Couratin

A major incident has taken place at an oil refinery in Pembroke Dock, Wales, killing four people.

The Chevron plant witnessed a massive explosion at 18:20 BST on Thursday (June 2nd), which caused a fire to rage at the facility. Four contractors were killed and one left seriously ill in hospital with burns.

Emergency services attended the incident after a 730 cubic metre storage tank exploded as maintenance work was taking place, with an adjacent receptacle also damaged.

Chris Davies, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, stated that the fire was "extinguished quickly" by members of Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue.

He added that off shore winds had blown material away from residential areas, stating: "Members of the public can be reassured that there is no ongoing risk to health as a result of the incident."

An investigation is now being carried out into the blast by Dyfed Powys Police and the Health and Safety Executive.

It follows an explosion at a port on Gibraltar on May 31st, which is thought to have been caused by a spark from welding work taking place on a tank holding a mixture of oil and water.