Residents terrified as 'explosion' seen coming from Tata steel works plant

A terrified resident has caught on camera the moment a huge 'explosion' appeared in the sky over the Tata steelworks plant in Port Talbot during the weekend. Those living in nearby streets spoke of seeing a towering column of flame and billowing black smoke above the site on Sunday evening (October 2).

One local, who rushed out of his home and began taking pictures, told of his immediate concern for his "family and friends" who work at the site. "At first I thought it was a gas explosion as the street I live is currently being dug up to allow work on the main gas pipe," he said.

"Then my daughter came running into the house when she saw the flames coming from the furnace. We have a lot of family and friends working there so we were very concerned."

Karen Hall said: "I saw it from Memorial Park, Taibach when walking the dog. Enormous explosion, flames and then that black smoke that others have posted."

READ MORE: The red dust clouds which hover over Port Talbot covering cars and window sills and even making pets ill claim residents

A Tata spokesperson described the incident as "rare" (UGC)

Large quantities of thick smoke had also been seen emerging from the plant in recent weeks, while another said the scene echoed the moment in April 2019 when a series of loud bangs shook the neighbouring houses and a huge mushroom cloud rose over the area. At the time of that incident, the source of the explosion was initially cited as being spillage from a train carrying molten metal into the works.

Luckily, back then no-one was seriously hurt - although two people did suffer minor injuries - leading to an external investigation being launched. However, a spokesperson for Tata Steel blamed Sunday's occurrence on "some operational instability on one of the blast furnaces," describing it as "rare."

"This led to the safety-critical pressure release valve being triggered. It is very rare for the exhaust gases to ignite, which they did on this occasion.

"We apologise to local residents who may have been alarmed. The furnace quickly returned to normal operating parameters and no-one was harmed."

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