Stanlow oil refinery in Cheshire evacuated after fire
https://news.sky.com/story/stanlow-oil-refinery-in-cheshire-evacuated-after-fire-11479397
Firefighters tackled a blaze at a major UK oil refinery where all staff were evacuated.
The fire broke out at a Shell-owned chemical plant on the same site as the Stanlow refinery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
Essar Oil UK, which operates the refinery and chemical plant, say that 900 employees and 500 contractors work on the site which supplies 16% of all road transport fuels.
All staff have been accounted for and the fire has now been extinguished.
Flames and a column of thick black smoke were seen after the blaze broke out on Wednesday afternoon.
The force said the fire has been confined to the site and crews are using a ground monitor and handheld monitor to extinguish pockets of flame.
Brian Howell, 60, said he was relaxing in the Eastham Ferry area, around eight miles away, before he "heard a loud 'whoosh' type explosion".
He added: "I looked over to Stanlow and there was an aggressive fire and lots of black smoke."
The Shell Higher Olefins Plant (SHOP) is separated from the refinery by a road and rail tracks.