On 11 December 2005 the UK experienced one of its largest explosions since World War Two at a oil depot that was holding up to 60 million gallons of fuel.
The huge blast at the Buncefield fuel depot in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, was heard as far away as the Netherlands and shrouded much of south-east England in smoke.
At the time, the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal – which was co-owned by Total and Texaco – handled more than two million metric tonnes of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel each year and was the fifth largest oil products storage depot in the UK.
An investigation found the cause of the explosion was an overfilled fuel tank and failed safety systems, leading to a vapour cloud that ignited with the force of up to 30 tonnes of TNT.
Although the fire burned for days no-one was killed or seriously injured.
