A 22-railcar convoy derailed at 11:50 pm in a small town of 2,000 residents; 9 tanks carrying 80 m³ of unleaded fuel spilled, ignited and exploded. This burning gasoline consumed dwellings and reached the sewer system. Electricity had to be[...]
An explosion occurred around 1:00 am in a single-family dwelling. On their return from a trip, the homeowner by drawing hot water from a tap caused the water heater to turn on, causing ignition of the hydrocarbon vapours that had[...]
Fire broke out in an open depot containing 10 million tyres (200,000 m³) over a 5-ha zone, which was divided into 5 storage areas with a 4-m average height (max: 7 m). The blaze began in a corner of the[...]
Five tons of liquid propane leak occurred during transferring from a tank car to a propane sphere. The leak was caused by a malfunctioning rupture unit on a loading arm in which only 2 of the 3 rupture blades ruptured.[...]
While conducting earthworks, a loader punctured an oil pipeline (Ø = 400 mm), buried 1.2 m deep and carrying naphtha at a pressure of 8-10 bar. Emanating from a 30 cm² opening, a jet spray 5 to 10 m high[...]
At 9:45 am, a vehicle transporting nearly 800 kg of explosives exploded while making a U-turn on a company's premises within an industrial park where it had taken a wrong turn. The lorry, specially equipped to transport up to 5[...]
In a fertilizer plant located 12 km from a city with 40,000 population, a cryogenic ammonia (NH3) tank weighing 10,000 tons and filled to 70% capacity suddenly experienced a pressure rise and burst at its base. Under the impact of[...]
Within a refinery storage zone, the shell of a fragile 15,000-m³ tank (at the end of its filling cycle) containing 13,500 m³ of HTS residue (at 130°C) split open. The flow of HC then destroyed two other tanks (15,000 m³[...]
At 6.10 am, a 3000 litre hydrogen gas tank dating back to 1939 (L=14 m, diam.=570 mm) exploded at 135 bar during hydrogenation in a chemical site. The technicians who witnessed the violent explosion followed by a red-orangey fire ball[...]
An explosion and a fire occurred during the night in a chemical plant during the manufacture of a silicon oil- and additive-based waterproofing agent. A junior technician (hired 6 months back), recently assigned to this post, was left without supervision[...]
