NEWS: Explosion Heard Near Fuel Depot in Hemel Hempstead, England

Sorry for the lack of info. I tried to update my original post with some images etc. All the lot disappeared when i hit edit.


[edit on 11-12-2005 by Bikereddie]

An emergency hotline has been set up to help anyone concerned about friends or relatives. The number is 0800 096 0095.

uk.news.yahoo.com...

They were very quick to declare this as an "accident".

I'm shocked by that, they dont know what caused it, where it started and nobody has been near it since it started. No forensic tests have been carried out but they know this is "definitely not terrorism related" and its "definitely an accident".

I'm calling BS on this.

While not being completely sure what the cause was, they might well have a good idea.

There was a telephone call to the BBC earlier where a chap reported traffic delays in the area a few weeks back due to some kind of foam being applied around the bottom of a tank. Perhaps any steps taken then weren't enough.

there was an interview on skynews with a worker who noticed a lorry smoking, or something like that, he didnt know what to do cause he was "only been there for 6 months"...

There was apparently some maintenance work being carried out and one of the eye witnesses, a security officer in an adjacent building, reported a strong smell of petrol just prior to the blast.
Having worked next to the site I have had similar experiences before when stepping outside and the atmosphere has been very fumey.

Really don't think this was a terrorist attack given the accounts I have heard so far.

Crikey..



And Hi Res Weather Sat

The sky looks strange here in Reading.

Sorry about the lack of info in my first post guys, had to go to bed after my night shift.

Completely forgot about the balst when I woke up at 1600 hours and when I looked out the window I did wonder about the large, dark cloud floating around...

Now I remember!

Although i'm not one to shout "terrorism" at every incident that occurs, i have to agree with Nerdling on this one. Yes ok it probably was an accident, but the way i see it, theres as much chance of it being something more because they just don't know yet. Until they get a chance to do a full investigation and see exactly what caused it, i'm keeping an open mind on this one. I really would'nt put it past the officials to shout "accident" just to keep the peace, pretty much like they tried doing initialy with the "power surge" on the London bombings until it became pretty obvious it was'nt going to wash

Then again, don't you think something this big would have been claimed with joy by now if it had been a terrorist organisation?

Either way, my thoughts go out to those effected by this. Judging by the news at the moment, half of the depot has already been destroyed and the other half could still easily go up if they can't control the fire. So as well as the damage caused and the health implications of this, theres now going to be a lot of people without homes and jobs right before xmas .

CX.

I've just heard, the 3Com EMEA HQ in Hemel Hempstead/UK also has been damaged. It is said that the location is not that far away from the place that accident happened

If this is true:

Does anybody know how bad 3Com EMEA HQ has been damaged?

The reason I am being skeptical about this official explanation is because I have a friend who is in that area, he was wakened by a roar just before the huge explosion, as were several of his neighbours.

And now we have Defence Sec. John Reid saying "wait and see" and refusing to rule anything out.

It really doesnt take much for someone to break in at 6am on a cold sunday morning and tape a brick of semtex to a feeder pipe. Give it 5 minutes timer and leg it.

I'm a bit skeptical of this being an accident too -- like Nerdling said it was awfully fast, plus one of the latest terrorist tapes urged people to attack oil targets.

[edit on 12/11/2005 by djohnsto77]

Hi Riwka
3Com were my previous employer so my first concern was the safety of the two security officers on duty. I managed to contact the security supervisor within an hour of the blast and he reported that both were ok. The building has, I believe, sustained quite a bit of damage as it backs onto the depot.
The Northgate building to the left of the 3Com site has sustained even more damage, being slightly closer to the blast.

Well i have been watching BBC News 24 on and off for much of the day. Apparently the explosion was heard in Holland as well, now that tells you how big this explosion was

They are not going to be able to tell what happened, or get near it until the flames have been extinguished, and the whole place made safe.

How can any forensic team get in there when there is that amount of heat and flames to contend with?

[edit on 11-12-2005 by Bikereddie]

That's my point eddie, if nobody can get in and investigate then how can you conclusively rule out terrorism?

I suppose you cant. But then again, the powers that be could be keeping this hush hush in case of any kind of reprisals like the ones that happened in Leeds after the London bombers were announced to the public.

I think we will have to sit tight on this one, and wait untill we hear more.

How will these huge petroleum fires releasing tons of CO2 affect the UK's Kyoto Treaty standing?

Well...

These areas tend to be covered in CCTV cameras, which are watched off of the actual site and recorded. If someone is seen tresspassing they then call it in and the security go to that area.

It is likely the videos would be safe and they would have gone over these within the first hour or so.

It may be cancelled out by the thousands who will stay at home tomorrow as their workplaces are either off limits or trashed