London, April 26 (IANS) Two people were injured in an explosion at Tata’s main Welsh steelworks plant on Friday, the company has confirmed.
Residents living near the Port Talbot plant spoke of hearing a “massive” blast shortly after 3.30 a.m., the BBC reported.
Tata Steel in Europe said the explosion came from a train used to carry molten metal, but the fires at the plant were now out and all employees had been accounted for.
“We can confirm two of our employees were slightly injured when there was a spillage of liquid iron while it was travelling to the steel plant,” it said in a series of tweets.
“All fires have now been extinguished. A full investigation has begun.”
Images posted on social media show flames at the site and plumes of smoke.
Helicopters were circling overhead and South Wales Police said it received “numerous calls” shortly after 3.30 a.m. “reporting an explosion”.
“At this time we believe there are just two with minor injuries. We are asking people to avoid the area at this time,” the force added.
Tata had recently invested 50 million pounds in the plant to refit a blast furnace. It has pledged to invest 1 billion pounds over 10 years if market conditions allow.
Tata Steel is Europe’s second largest steel producer, with steelmaking in the UK and Netherlands, and manufacturing plants across the continent.
–IANS
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