Accidental blasts rock north London oil depot, 43 injured

LONDON – A fuel depot in north London was rocked by massive explosions that spewed ash and fire into the sky and shattered windows in nearby houses. The Buncefield oil depot, which is jointly operated by oil giants Total and Texaco, was rocked by these explosions, which appear to be accidental at the moment.

43 people were reportedly injured by the flying debris, smoke or escaping the scene. Among these, four are apparently injured seriously. The explosions took place early morning on Sunday and residents were rudely awakened by a big boom. The oil depot is located near the Luton airport.

And although, it was reported that a plane was flying low before the explosions, the police are treating the fire as accidental. “All indications are, at this stage, that this was an accident. However, clearly we will keep an open mind … until we can confirm that for certain,” Hertfordshire Chief Constable Frank Whiteley said.

He added that it was too early to conclusively say what caused the blasts. Britain is still on the edge after the deadly terrorist attacks, which hit the transport system in July. And al-Qaeda ahs already intimated that fuel depots are its next target. But by and large these explosions are being categorized as accidental.

Meanwhile, people have rushed out to fuel depots to fill up fearing that these explosions could lead to fuel shortages. But BP spokeswoman Sheila Williams has assured that there will be no shortages. “There is certainly no shortage of fuel in and around the area and we are working hard to bring fuel supplies in from other terminals to petrol sites in those areas affected,” she told Sky News.

“Companies like BP can bring supplies via tankers from other areas. People shouldn’t be concerned,” Even the police are advising against panic buying and are saying that doing so might lead to shortages. The Luton Airport also said that flights would not be affected because of these blasts.