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Below are some of the reports we carried on Hemeltoday
Updated: 06:41, Sunday December 11, 2005
There has been a large explosion followed by two smaller blasts in the St
Albans area, around 25 miles north of London.
Sky Correspondent Sky Meade has said he can see flames about 200ft in the
sky and there appears to be burning fuel.
Speaking by telephone from his home, Meade described "burning tongues" of
flames in the sky.
The first blast happened at 6.03am - the other explosions followed about 20
minutes later.
Meade, a seasoned war reporter said he can see what looks like "burning
aviation fuel".
"This fire is extremely intense. It is a bright orange glow on the horizon,"
he said.
Witnesses have told Sky News they heard the blast near Junction 8 of the M1.
It is thought to be centred around Bunsfield fuel depot, near Hemel
Hempstead.
The blast was felt at Sky Centre - more than 20 miles away in west London.
It was so powerful it blew out the windows at a hotel in Hemel Hempstead.
There are reports of injuries there.
And one witness has told how the explosion shook his mother's house and
lifted the roof.
Witnesses have told Sky News that emergency services are converging on the
area.
Sky News producer Anwar Tambe heard the blast from his home in Luton and is
currently stuck in traffic on the M1.
He said blasts are "going off regularly" and debris has blown onto the
motorway.
More follows...
MORE ON THIS STORY:
Michael vassey we were all asleep And THE IMPRESSION WAS IT WSA CLAP OF
THUNDER - we had a garage door blown in and the front door was also blown in
the damage nearer th explosion must be worse.
About half a mile away several hundred feet into the sky and pall of smoke
several thousand feet into the sky.
Clearly was a tremendous pressure wave.
Dave franklin
Damage to a lady¹s window about a mile away plumes of orghange shooting up
into the air. There are people being evacuated from woodhall farm.
Police confirm there was three explosions
Heather seaton
Only a field between us and the depot.
Flames are hundresds of feet high
Fast asleep in bed and the whole house was shaking didn¹t know wheteher it
was an earthquake couldn¹t get out of the front door which was buckled in.
Everything was falling off shelves. Next door neighbours cars are buckled in
and garage doors can¹t be opened.
Motorway has beden closed
BUNCEFIELD OIL DEPOT EXPLOSION
UPDATED 7.45AM: A NUMBER of people have been injured and homes destroyed after a series of explosions rocked Buncefield oil depot.
The waves of pressure from the explosions shook the whole area and lifted
the roofs off homes.
Businesses on Maylands Avenue were reported to be destroyed.
Huge clouds of smoke were hanging over Hemel Hempstead at 7.40am - more than
an hour and a half after the first explosion.
Flames were hundreds of feet in the air.
People close to the depot had the roofs of their homes literally blown off.
Witnesses said there had been many injuries around the area.
One person cliemd there had been reports of a low-flying plane before the
first explosion jujst after 6am
Many other explosions were still going on.
The explosion could be heard and felt as far away as central London and
Maidenhead in Berkshire
Ramada Hotel windows shattered and place evacuated
Many casualties
Three explosions
Devastation in maylands avenue industrial estate
It was like there were two sunrises
Sarah Hart from Leverstock Green: Flames were a few hundred feet in the air
and our patio window was blown in
BUNCEFIELD OIL DEPOT EXPLOSION
Sunday December 11. Update 7.55am:
Many other explosions were still going on.
The explosion could be heard and felt as far away as central London and
Maidenhead in Berkshire.
Flames leapt into the sky for about 200 feet.
Buncefield is a major supplier for the fuel firms and has about 20 tanks
holding up to three million gallons of fuel each according to one worker.
There would have been about a dozen people or so on site, said tanker driver
Malcolm Stewart.
Buncefield is a venture between Total Uk and Texaco. A spokesman said "We
are doing everything we can to work with the emergency services to bring the
situation under control."
~Reports said the fire was spreading wider and there were still further
explosions going on
Paul Emerton is on a field close to the industrial estate and said the heat
was so high you ucould probably toast marshmallows.
SUNDAY, December 11. Update 8.05am: Eight people dead unconfirmed reports...Like something out of a disaster movie said one reporter
Expected to have a knock on on petrol availability
SKY latest below
There are unconfirmed reports that eight people have been killed in a large
explosion, followed by several smaller blasts, near Hemel Hempstead, around
25 miles north of London.
At least 12 crews have been sent to the scene, where flames are soaring up
to 200ft in the sky.
The blast appears to be centered around the Buncefield fuel depot near
junction 8 of the M1. It was so powerful it was felt more than 20 miles
away.
Hertfordshire Police have said the explosion was an "accident" and nothing
sinister.
Thousands of viewers are contacting Sky News with reports it shook houses
many miles away.
Witnesses have said that buildings have been brought down and the roofs of
houses were lifted by the force.
One witness said he was near the site when the blast happened and he saw a
building "open up like a dolls house".
Sky Reporter Enda Brady is at the scene. He said there has been a lot of
structural damage to surrounding buildings.
Map of the area
"As for residential buildings, it would appear that most people have got
away with just blown out windows and cracks," he said.
Brady said he can see a "colossal column of thick black acrid smoke". He
added: "People are very, very shocked. Many are walking around int heir bed
clothes."
The windows were blown out at the Ramada hotel in Hemel Hempstead, which is
being evacuated after reports of injuries.
Sky News Correspondent Geoff Meade heard the blast at his home.
He immediately called Sky Centre in west London, which was also shook by the
explosion, and described "burning tongues" of flames in the sky.
The first blast happened at 6.03am - it was followed by several smaller
explosions.
Meade, a seasoned war reporter, said he can see what looks like "burning
aviation fuel".
"This fire is extremely intense. It is a bright orange glow on the horizon,"
he said.
Sunday December 11 8.35am LATEST: Herts police said there was nothing to suggest a plane had been involved.
Witnesses said the blaze was getting larger all the time.
Another eyewitness, Suzanne Bohknecht said it appeared that a corner of the depot had gone up.
She said: "The plume of smoke is incredible. One half of Leverstock Green is
in darkness.
"The air is putrid and rubbery. It's very frightening.
"My next door neighbour's loft hatch was blown out."
She thought her house had been protected from the blast by Pelham Court
tower block.
Total said its staff at the site were safe but was unable to say whether
others on the site working for Texaco were all right.
Residents told to keep their windows and doors shut but said the fumes were
not toxic and at the moment there were no plans for an evacuation.
Witnesses have told Sky News that emergency services are converging on the
area.
Sky News producer Anwar Tambe heard the blast from his home in Luton and is
currently stuck in traffic on the M1.
He said blasts are "going off regularly" and debris has blown onto the
motorway.
Sunday Dec 11. LatesT 9am: Eyewitness accounts: from the Pickett family Toms Croft Adeyfield Hemel "as we look out my mums window its black with smoke...woke up this moring n thought it was thunder. "
Andrea Britton was a quarter of a mile away when the explosion happened.
She said: "Walls in nearby storage buildings had been blown through.
"Two of my back windows were blown in.
She said the smoke was building up all the time and whole sky is black on
one side.
Disaster management specialist Justin Balcombe said the explosion shook his
house.
He said the priority would be to secure the situation and put into place a
fire containment plan.
He said there would be a number of concerns to deal with including damage to
homes and businesses.
Jonathan Barr was thrown to the floor in the blast while he was working at
Northgate Business Solutions.
He said: "I didn't actually hear anything.I was just working and then I was
thrown on the floor and everything went black with debris."
He suffered cuts and grazes.
"I was working with a colleague and we managed to find each other. We Broke
a window with a chair to get out because the doors were buckled.
We stumbled down what was left of the stairs and got out of the building."
He said they flagged down a passing car which took them to the hospital.
Sunday, December 11. Latest 10.10am. Some residents living near the scene and smoke are being evacuated.
The Jarman Park leisure complex, close to the town centre, has been opened up as an evacuation centre for residents.
Sunday Dec 11. Latest 10.20am: Police say there were 36 casualties in the explosion.
At a press conference the police said the injuries were not serious, although four were "more seriously hurt."
The police say the smoke from the blazing terminal is an "irritant." Residents are told to keep their doors and windows shut.
If there windows have been blown out they should evacuate.
If people feel ill as a result of the smoke they should contact their GP or NHS Direct.
Emergency numbers for people worried about relatives have been set up;
If you live IN the UK the number is 0800 096 0095
If you are calling from OUTSIDE the UK the number is 0207 158 0125.
Police also appealed to people not to panic buy petrol and stressed the oil companies have ensured supplies to garages will not be affected by today's events.
Firefighters tackle blaze
Monday, December 12 12.40pm: FIREFIGHTERS are this afternoon continuing to tackle the blaze at the Buncefield oil depot.
All schools across Hemel Hempstead are shut and Maylands business park is closed as the fire continues to rage.
Chief Fire Officer Roy Wilsher said his crews are in unchartered territory facing walls of fire that at times 'look like the apocalypse'.
He said: "Conditions are particularly harsh – particularly with the smoke and weather conditions. It's not in any of our firefighters' experience to see walls of fire that high."
The smoke falling on Hemel Hempstead is likely to increase as the fire is tackled and the surrounding air cools.
Police have therefore reissued their advice for residents in affected areas - particularly the very young, elderly and those with existing breathing problems - to keep windows and doors shut.
The threat of more smoke means the M1 motorway through Hemel Hempstead could be closed again later today, having been reopened this morning after yesterday's closure.
Dr Jane Halpin, Director of Public Health in Hertfordshire, said fruit and vegetables produced in Hemel Hempstead should be washed and peeled to remove any risk associated with the smoke.
She said: "As it cools the plume of smoke will start to sink to earth."
Chief Constable Frank Whitely said that although it could take up to 48 hours to bring the blaze under control, the fire could be brought under control by this afternoon.
Although it has a 'low toxicity', asthma sufferers and the elderly could be affected by the fumes.
More than 40 people were injured in the explosions, the first of which happend just after 6am yesterday.
Concerns about water pollution delayed firefighters trackling the blaze last night, but these fears were allayed this morning.
Firefighters had planned to start creating a "foam blanket" to smother the flames at midnight but this was postponed amid fears it could affect ground water supplies.
Police said the environmental concerns had now been satisfied and that the bid to douse the fire, using 250,000 litres of foam, mixed with 25,000 litres of water per minute, would start shortly.
Meanwhile the sight of the blaze was causing trouble on the now opened M1. Reports were emerging of hold ups as people rubber-necked and took photographs of the chaos.
A specialist crane has been brought in to assist with the firefighting operation.
Water will be pumped from the Grand Union Canal, two miles away, using high-pressure hoses.
On Sunday, firefighters worked to contain the fire, using a "curtain of water" between the flames and the remaining unexploded fuel tanks.
Seven out of more than 20 tanks remained intact. Each was said to hold three million gallons of fuel.
Meanwhile, the necessary materials and equipment for Monday's attack on the blaze were gathered from around the country.
An inquiry into the cause of the inferno by the Health and Safety Executive cannot take place until the site has been made safe.
Police officers - including anti-terrorist detectives - are investigating, but say there is "nothing to suggest" the fire was anything other than an accident.
Hertfordshire's Chief Fire Officer Roy Wilsher said: "The damage a fire of this intensity will cause may, or may not, leave clues for the fire investigation team.
"This is possibly the largest incident of its kind in peacetime Europe."
Samples of smoke are being taken to determine the long-term effects of exposure, if any, according to Dr Jane Halpin, director of Hertfordshire Public Health.
People with existing chest complaints are most at risk, along with those who breathed in large quantities of smoke.
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