ONE DEAD, SIX INJURED IN ROTTERDAM PORT EXPLOSION

One person died and six others were injured in an explosion at a storage facility for petroleum products at Rotterdam port on Thursday, 13 August at approximately 11:30 a.m. The blast occurred in the Europoort industrial section of Europe's largest port, an area that houses oil refineries, liquefied natural gas terminals and petrochemical facilities. Emergency services secured the site, and forensic investigators and the Dutch labour inspectorate were deployed to the location. A damaged wall and visible signs of an explosion on a storage tank were observed in the area.

The facility is operated by Gunvor Energy, a major energy commodities trading company. A Gunvor spokesperson stated that an "incident" occurred during maintenance work on a storage tank, and the company said it was cooperating with local authorities. Dutch broadcaster NOS reported that a maintenance team had been working on a section of pipes when the explosion occurred, though authorities did not confirm that account. Police spokesperson Daan Valkenburg stated that investigators were considering all possible causes and had not yet reached a conclusion. A police spokesperson also said there was no immediate sign of sabotage.

A separate power failure affected another part of the port on Thursday, with a transformer catching fire and prompting several companies to halt operations and evacuate workers. Emergency services stated the blackout was not linked to the explosion at the Gunvor facility. Rotterdam hosts Europe's largest oil refinery, Shell's Pernis plant with a capacity of 404,000 barrels per day, in addition to other refineries operated by BP, ExxonMobil and Vitol.