Barges explode near Australian shipyard in Alabama

Updated

Sorry, this video has expired Video: Witnesses describe moment of Alabama barge explosion (ABC News)

At least two fuel barges have exploded on Alabama's Mobile River near an Australian-owned shipyard, injuring three people.

The Mobile fire and rescue department said on its Twitter feed that two barges carrying petrol exploded on the east side of the river.

The department says there have been at least six subsequent explosions and it plans to let the barges burn because the situation is "too unstable".

Parts of Austal, an Australian-owned shipyard on the Mobile river, have been evacuated.

Austal is a defence shipyard which fabricates boats for the US Navy.

One of Austal's primary facilities is a defence shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia.

Austal's chief operating officer in WA, Andrew Bellamy, has confirmed to the ABC the barge explosions occurred near the Austal facility.

I slowed down to see what it was and when it exploded my whole wrecker shook... it was pretty intense. Witness

"I'm aware that there's been an incident nearby," he said.

"Early reports are that a fuel barge that was offloading at another facility caught alight.

"One area of the Austal facility has been evacuated."

Mr Bellamy says he does not know how many staff are at the facility, but that it was evacuated as a precaution.

He could not say if any Australians were involved.

Local media is reporting the three injured people were part of a cleaning crew.

They were reportedly taken to USA Medical Centre with burns and are in a critical condition.

Authorities say crews will be on the scene all night to monitor the fire, which is still burning across two barges.

'Pandemonium'

One Alabama resident told ABC News Online she felt the explosions from her house, some 48 kilometres away.

Fuel Barge exploded almost 30 miles away and it shook our house. #mobileriver #earthquakesinLA - @ChristyDay

@amesimmons It was a long rumble similar to thunder that shook the entire house. There have been at least 5 blast, but haven't felt any more. - @ChristyDay

An unidentified witness described the scene as pandemonium.

"First we heard the explosion and then all the doors down there shook like they were fixing to come off and everything. And then another explosion took place and I mean it was just pandemonium," he told Reuters.

"People running in and out of the buildings and everything else. And then a few minutes later there was another explosion. I just hope nobody got hurt."

A second unidentified witness said his entire truck shook from the blasts.

"I slowed down to see what it was and when it exploded my whole wrecker shook," he said.

"I got a big truck wrecker and the whole thing shook and rocked and it was pretty intense."

Map: Austal shipyard in Mobile, Alabama

ABC/Reuters

Topics: industrial-fires, disasters-and-accidents, united-states

First posted