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TheHoustonChronicle

Dec. 11, 2005, 3:49AM

Explosions Rock Oil Depot North of London

By THOMAS WAGNER Associated Press Writer
© 2005 The Associated Press

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, England — A series of explosions at one of Britain's largest oil depots shook an area north of London Sunday, shattering windows and sending billowing clouds of smoke and flames high into the sky. Police said the blasts appeared to be accidental.

The oil depot is near an airport and some residents reported hearing an aircraft flying low overhead shortly before the first explosion at around 6 a.m. But area police issued a statement saying there was "nothing to suggest a plane was involved."

The al-Qaida terror network and other terrorist groups have threatened to target fuel depots. But police said there was no indication the blasts were acts of terrorism.

Britain has been on edge about terror attacks since the July 7 transit bombings in London, which killed 56 people including four suicide bombers. An attempted attack two weeks later failed.

The area around the fuel depot was being evacuated. Police said many roads and highways had been closed.

Luton Airport, about 30 miles north of central London and near the site of the explosions, remained open and flights were operating normally.

Firefighters, meanwhile, scrambled to extinguish the blaze at the Buncefield Oil Terminal, about two miles from the town of Hemel Hempstead.

The British Broadcasting Corp. reported an unspecified number of casualties, which police and local firefighters could not immediately confirm.

The Ramada Hotel in Hemel Hempstead was temporarily evacuated after windows were shattered by the blast. Two guests had minor injuries from broken glass and were treated at the hotel, said Calum Russell, marketing director for Jarvis Hotels Ltd. All 187 guests had since returned to their rooms, Russell said.

Residents in Hemel Hempstead reported a loud boom and some felt their houses shake. The blast was so powerful it was felt throughout a large part of London and southeast England.

"Around 6 a.m. as we were sleeping, there was a mighty explosion _ a thunderclap that woke me up," said Neil Spencer, 42, who lives less than a mile from the terminal. "It was fireball after fireball _ truly amazing."

Local resident Richard Ayers said a massive column of smoke rose into the air and said the force of explosions had blown the roofs off houses near the oil depot. "It is like it is doomsday," he told the BBC.

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