Large Explosion Reported in Grain Terminal at UK Port

A large explosion was reported last Friday in a silo at the Tilbury Grain Terminal at the Port of Tilbury in Essex, England, British news organizations reported. The force of the blast blew off the top of the silo and ignited a fire in several other grain silos at the site. 

Crews were dispatched to the site around 10 a.m. and arrived at the scene to find one of the silos alight, Essex Fire & Rescue Service said in a release.

A resident of an area near the port told BBC that six silos exploded during the incident.

Firefighters were still on scene as of Monday afternoon as smoldering fires continued to burn inside the silos. 

“This will be a protracted incident with crews remaining at the scene over the coming days working alongside engineers to minimize the impact on the grain site,” Essex Fire & Rescue stated on Monday. “The incident is contained within silos at the site and there is no risk to neighboring sites within the Port of Tilbury.”

Owned by Forth Ports, the Port of Tilbury is the most major port serving London and is the third largest port in the country. 

A port official said in an account by EssexLive that no injuries were logged.