UK

Fire breaks out at Oxfordshire processing facility after lightning strike

Videos on social media showed sky in in the area with an orange colour (@Stuartbigbro2/PA)
Videos on social media showed sky in in the area with an orange colour (@Stuartbigbro2/PA)

A large fire caused by a lightning strike has broken out at a processing facility in Oxfordshire.

Severn Trent Green Power, a waste management company, confirmed the fire had occurred at its Cassington AD facility, near Yarnton, in a statement posted on Facebook on Monday evening.

It said a digester tank was struck by the lightning at around 7.20pm, causing the gases within the tank to ignite.

The company said it was working with emergency services to secure the site.

A company representative told the PA news agency that no-one was injured in the incident.

Videos began circulating on social media on Monday showing a large fireball and the sky in the area pulsing an orange colour.

Jack Frowde, 34, from Oxford, who works at Oxford University, said: “I was sitting in my kitchen when the whole room lit up with a brilliant white light, then followed by a huge crack which sounded like really heavy thunder.

“I looked out of the kitchen window and it was as if the sky was pulsating orange.

“I ran to the back to capture the orange glow as it faded after about 20 seconds.”

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Thames Valley Police have been contacted for comment.