Explosion at Gunvor facility in Rotterdam port kills one, injures six

Explosion at Europoort

An explosion at a Gunvor Energy Rotterdam storage tank in the Europoort area of Rotterdam port killed one person and injured six others on Thursday morning. The blast occurred around 11:30 local time at the company's facility on Moezelweg, according to Rotterdam police. Police communicated the incident through a post on the social media platform X. Gunvor Energy, the Dutch subsidiary of the Swiss Gunvor Group, confirmed the casualty figures. Emergency services, including a trauma helicopter and multiple ambulances, were dispatched to the scene shortly after the explosion. The injured were transported to hospital, though no information on the severity of their wounds has been released.

The victims were part of a hired maintenance crew working on pipes at a storage tank. According to NOS, the crew was disconnecting pipes when something went wrong, possibly triggering the blast. De Volkskrant reported that the victims had been hired to carry out maintenance on a storage tank at Moezelweg. A Gunvor Energy spokesperson described what happened.

“This morning, a subcontractor was carrying out maintenance work in a tank enclosure and, during this work, an incident occurred.”

Traces of the blast are visible on one of the storage tanks, according to AFP.

Investigation underway

Police have cordoned off the area as a crime scene to establish the circumstances of the blast. A police spokesperson told Reuters there is no reason to suspect sabotage, but that it remains one of the scenarios under investigation. The Dutch Labour Inspectorate and the Dutch Safety Investigation Board are both on site conducting separate inquiries. Gunvor Energy stated it is cooperating fully with authorities. The cause of the explosion and what exactly detonated remain unknown.

Dead1

Injured6

Dead

1 people

Injured

6 people

Data from the article text

Separate incidents in the port

Elsewhere in the Rotterdam port area on Thursday morning, a power outage struck the Botlek area, affecting installations at the Esso refinery. A fire also broke out at a transformer station on the Maasvlakte. The Veiligheidsregio, the regional safety authority, confirmed the power outage and fire are related to each other, likely caused by a power surge. Stedin, the grid operator, is investigating the cause of the outage. Power was gradually restored to affected companies, and involved businesses resumed their operations.

A Rotterdam port spokesperson told Reuters there is no connection between these incidents and the deadly explosion. The Moezelweg and Botlekweg are approximately 7 kilometres apart, and the Maasvlakte lies more than 15 kilometres west of the Moezelweg.

Gunvor's Rotterdam operations

Gunvor Group's Rotterdam facility, operated through Gunvor Energy Rotterdam, produces liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), gasoline, diesel, and kerosene. Europoort is one of the largest chemical and petrochemical industrial areas in the world. Rotterdam is Europe's largest port and ranks as the 11th busiest globally. The company said it is working with authorities to determine the exact causes of the incident.