BBC images 

A RESOUNDING EXPLOSION AT AN OIL REFINERY this morning shook houses more than 15 miles away.  The accident took place about 30 miles southeast of London at a Petroplus refinery.  Petroplus is a Swiss oil company that purchased the Coryton facility from BP earlier this year.

The resultant fire was confined to a cracking tower where the explosion occurred.  The fire brigade got the fire under control in about four hours, but it is still burning.

According to Sky News, the Coryton refinery was constructed by Mobil and opened in 1953.  Two major expansions and many minor improvements have increased the refinery capacity to 10 times the original volume.  It produces 13 million litres of petrol a day, plus liquid propane gas, diesel, and aviation fuel.

The BBC has an early STORY.

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