Two workers have been killed after a huge explosion at a former SSI site in South Bank.

A major emergency response was sparked after the industrial accident at 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".

Thick plumes of black smoke could be seen rising above the coke ovens at around 2pm as firefighters hosed the chimneys down.

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

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.

Follow below for updates on the incident