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Two people have been killed after a huge explosion at the former SSI site in Lackenby.

An emergency response was sparked after the industrial accident at the South Bank coke ovens site, just off the A66, on Thursday afternoon.

It's believed the workers were operating a cherry picker close to the blast, which was described as a "massive fireball".

Cleveland Police confirmed on Friday morning that two men have been killed.

Incident Commander Detective Superintendent Tariq Ali, said: “We can now confirm that there have sadly been two fatalities as a result of an incident at the former SSI site in South Bank yesterday.



“The families of those two men have been informed and our thoughts remain with them at this very difficult time.”

(Image: Teesside Live)

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen also issued a statement following the confirmation of the deaths.

He said: “Yesterday was a terrible and tragic day and all of our thoughts go out to the family, friends and colleagues of the two workers who were involved in the accident on site.

“It is impossible to imagine the pain and distress which this news will have brought the loved ones of those involved. All of the staff who work at the South Tees Development Corporation site are deeply shocked and sorry for this loss.

“All works on site have been suspended while investigations continue. The team is working with the emergency services and the Health and Safety Executive who will continue to have an ongoing presence on site.

“Let me be clear, we will examine every single detail of the work that was being conducted; we will make sure we do everything to understand exactly what happened and why.”

Witnesses at the scene at the time of the explosion described loud crashes and "booming" noises before smoke began to fill the sky.

One employee at one of the sites nearby the coke ovens said: "It was the biggest fireball I’ve ever seen. It was massive.

"I can only describe it as something you would see in the Gulf war. It went higher than the big tower.

"The ground shook and I heard a muffled sound, a bit like an airplane flying over, but I thought hang on, that’s way too close.

"That’s when I saw the huge fireball go up."

He added: "I was expecting metal and things to start flying everywhere but it didn’t happen like that.

"It was as though all the gasses just went up at once."

Firefighters could be seen hosing down one of the chimneys and around five fire engines were in the vicinity, alongside crime scene investigators.

Another explosion happened around an hour after the first, and flames could be seen shooting out of one of the stacks at a "horizontal" angle.

(Image: Teesside Live)

Smoke continued to rise out of the chimneys until early evening but a spokeswoman for Cleveland Fire Brigade confirmed there was no danger to the public.

John Coates, who was driving past the area at the time of the explosion, said there was a "loud crash and booming" noises.

"It sounded like something had come crashing down, like lightning", he said.

"I walked towards the compound to see what was happening and large plumes of black smoke could be seen coming from one of the chimneys.

"It happened in the area where the coke ovens are, just round the back.

"There appeared to be flames in the area.

"It sounded like some sort of release valve but it was a very loud crash, and booming. Like something had collapsed."

Police officers remained on site with bystanders being ushered away from the area shortly before 7.30pm.

A government spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy told Teesside Live they were monitoring the situation.

They said: "We are aware of an incident that has occurred at the former steelworks site and are monitoring the situation closely.

“Engineers on site are working closely with the emergency services who are at the scene and working with the Health and Safety Executive.”

The coke ovens were part of the wider SSI site and closed in 2015 following the collapse of the company .



The facility is now part of the South Tees Development Corporation Site.