Incident 378 of 13th July 2011
UPDATE (2) ISSUED - 1610hrs 14/07/2011
Superintendent Keith Owen has confirmed that Police, together with Fire and Rescue officers carrying out the examination of the Industrial Unit where last nights fire and explosion occurred have discovered materials consistent with the production or manufacture of alcohol. We are still trying to discover the cause of the blaze. The examination of the scene will continue.
We are still working towards identifying the men who were killed. To that end Mr Owen is asking for members of the public who may be concerned about a family member, friend, associate, workmate, housemate or neighbour to contact us. It may be that they not returned home or not arrived at work or another place when they should have or they have not been in touch as usual or as expected.
Anyone with any information or concerns should contact Lincolnshire Police via 0300 111 0300
UPDATE (1) ISSUED - 1200hrs 14/07/2011
There have been no major developments since the last press release. The injured man has now been transferred to the new Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham. His main injuries are serious burns and he remains in intensive care.
We are still working towards identifying the deceased men and informing their families and friends we are unable to release any further details about them at this point. In due course post mortems will be carried out to establish the cause or causes of their deaths.
We are aware of the rumours and speculation surrounding the use of the premises where the fire and explosion took place. All of the developing lines of enquiry will be followed up in great detail and the possible illegal production of alcohol is one of those lines of enquiry.
Superintendent Keith Owen has appealed for witnesses to the incident or anyone with any knowledge about the persons using the premises and their activities to contact us on 0300 111 0300
ORIGINAL PRESS RELEASE - At around 7:28pm this evening, Wednesday 13th July 2011 the emergency services were called to the Broadfield Lane Industrial Estate after reports of an explosion in a unit on the estate.
When we attended we found that five men had been killed and a further man had been seriously injured. The injured man was taken to then Pilgrim Hospital at Boston but has since been transferred to the Queens Medical Centre at Nottingham.
No other persons are thought to have been injured.
At this stage we have no confirmed information as to who the deceased men may be and we are working hard to establish their identities and to inform their families and friends.
Overnight a full forensic examination of the scene will be commenced by the Police and the Fire and Rescue Service with a view to establishing the cause of the explosion.
It the present time we are keeping and open mind and we will follow up any and all information that we receive. If anyone has any knowledge about the people occupying or working at the unit we would ask them to contact us via 0300 111 0300
