Woolie
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Large explosions have rocked a fuel depot near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire shooting flames hundreds of feet into the sky.
Police say there are 36 casualties, with two people seriously hurt.
The first blast happened at 0603 GMT at the Buncefield fuel depot, close to junction 8 of the M1 motorway and was heard as far away as the Netherlands.
The fire, which police believe was caused by an accident, could last days with more explosions expected.
In total, 20 petrol tanks are involved in the fire, each said to hold three million gallons of fuel.
The M1 has been closed both ways between junctions 6a and 12.
The M10 motorway is closed in both directions between junction 1 and junction 7 as well as some arterial roads in Hemel Hempstead.
Motorists have been told not to go "anywhere near the M1 from the M25 upwards".
At Heathrow airport some flights were forced to delay landing because of smoke, but Luton airport was said to be operating as usual.
Many houses have been damaged, with some reporting feeling effects from the explosion as far away as Oxfordshire - while it was heard in a number of counties and even France and the Netherlands.
Source - BBC News
Police say there are 36 casualties, with two people seriously hurt.
The first blast happened at 0603 GMT at the Buncefield fuel depot, close to junction 8 of the M1 motorway and was heard as far away as the Netherlands.
The fire, which police believe was caused by an accident, could last days with more explosions expected.
In total, 20 petrol tanks are involved in the fire, each said to hold three million gallons of fuel.
The M1 has been closed both ways between junctions 6a and 12.
The M10 motorway is closed in both directions between junction 1 and junction 7 as well as some arterial roads in Hemel Hempstead.
Motorists have been told not to go "anywhere near the M1 from the M25 upwards".
At Heathrow airport some flights were forced to delay landing because of smoke, but Luton airport was said to be operating as usual.
Many houses have been damaged, with some reporting feeling effects from the explosion as far away as Oxfordshire - while it was heard in a number of counties and even France and the Netherlands.
Source - BBC News
