Cheshire explosions: fire rages as four trapped by mill blast

Four-storey building collapses at Wood Flour Mills in Bosley as 'big fireball' rises from the building

Cheshire Fire
(Image credit: Cheshire Fire)

Four people are believed to be trapped amid a "raging" fire at a wood treatment works near Macclesfield following several explosions.

Three people have been taken to hospital with burns in what Cheshire Constabulary has declared a "major incident".

A four-storey building collapsed at Wood Flour Mills in Bosley this morning and firefighters are yet to rule out further explosions.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The "vast majority of staff are accounted for and safe and well", said police. However, one 29-year-old woman was said to have sustained "serious burns" and blast injuries to her head, face, arms and chest.

Six ambulances, two rapid response vehicles, an air ambulance and 15 fire engines were said to have attended the scene.

Ch Insp Paul Carroll, from Cheshire Constabulary, told BBC Radio Stoke: "The fire is still raging at this point in time. We've had a number of multiple explosions on site which have hindered our access in searching for unaccounted persons."

The cause of the explosions is not yet known.

One woman, who lives less than half a mile from the mill, said the first blast sounded as if "a car had just crashed into the house with a very deep bang". It shook her whole house, rattling windows and doors, "just like an earthquake", she said. "The black and grey smoke plummeted up along with flames and has engulfed the valley below."

Another witness told Sky News that he heard a "massive explosion" and saw a "big fireball rising from the building".

Residents nearby have been told to close their windows and doors because of smoke coming from the site.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us