Firefighters tackle blaze at major oil refinery

Updated

Firefighters are battling a blaze at a major oil refinery.

Flames and clouds of thick black smoke could be seen at Stanlow Oil Refinery, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, in images posted online.

All staff at the site have been evacuated and are accounted for, Cheshire Fire Service said.

The force, which was called at 2.16pm, believes the blaze to be at a manufacturing building inside the plant.

The refinery employs more than 900 staff and an additional 500 on-site contractors, and supplies 16% of all UK road transport fuels, according to operator Essar Oil UK.

The blaze at Stanlow
The blaze at Stanlow

Six fire engines are attending the scene in Oil Site Road.

Stanlow produces 4.4 billion litres of diesel and three billion litres of petrol annually, according to Essar Oil UK.

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