Explosion At Tamworth Factory

A blast at a food factory in Staffordshire has left 28 people injured, ambulance services have confirmed.

The explosion happened just before noon on Friday at the Brakes depot in Bonehill Road, Tamworth.

Of the 28 people injured after the explosion in the freezer, 21 were treated at the scene and discharged, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.

One man was hospitalised after suffering 15% burns and it is not known what the conditions of the other six are.
About 28 firefighters were called to the factory to deal with the explosion.

A spokeswoman for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "We have crews at the scene trying to find out what happened."

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David Urpeth from law firm Irwin Mitchell said: “This was a very serious accident at work.

“Explosions at work pose a risk to workers as well as to members of the public.

“While the circumstances of the blast are currently unknown, clearly something has gone very wrong.”

Mr Urpeth represented over 75 workers and many residents who were injured in the 2001 at the Killingholme refinery when over 170 tonnes of liquid petroleum gas caught fire, the largest chemical disaster since Flixborough. Conoco-Phillips, who owned the plant, was eventually fined £1m for breaching health and safety regulations after the explosion at its Humber refinery.