Major oil depot explosion in the UK. Said to be an accident, but you may recall a recent suggestion by one or other of the Jihadi leaders for attacks on oil facilities. An early morning incident, on a Sunday, is also suggestive of an attempt to get max media exposure. We'll see:
news.bbc.co.uk
DEBKA has commented on the call for attacks on oil facilities:
debka.com
Police report around 36 casualties, 4 in serious condition, from at least four unexplained blasts at Buncefield oil depot and refinery, the fifth largest in UK, which sent a huge fireball shooting 200ft into the sky early Sunday.
December 11, 2005, 11:33 AM (GMT+02:00)
Thousands of people are being evacuated from the surrounding towns and suburbs outside, which is engulfed in flames and black smoke. An industrial state was badly damaged, windows blown out miles away. Nearby Hemel Hempstead, St. Albans and Leverstock Green are under a dense cloud of polluted smoke which poses a major environmental threat. The shocks of the blasts were felt across SE England. Police are trying to stop panic buying of petrol. The M1 intercity highway is closed until further notice.
The Hertfordshire police rule out external causes although many witnesses report an aircraft in the area at the time of the blasts. Defense minister John Reid said cagily: The police still believe the disaster was accidental but do not exclude alternatives. No investigation can be held until the big oil depot cools enough for access. This will take days if not weeks.
DEBKAfile adds: Main fuel installations of this size are routinely equipped with systems for shutting down sections to curb the spread of fire or blasts. The magnitude of the explosions that engulfed the entire installation indicate an unusual catastrophe of some kind. Witnesses reported heavy rumbles before the explosion, much as though an aircraft had crashed into the oil installations.
On Dec. 7, an Islamic website ran an excerpt of an earlier videotape in which bin Laden’s No. 2, Ayman Zawahiri called on “holy warriors” to concentrate their attacks on oil targets. |
