Blast at Rotterdam Port leaves one dead, several hurt

One person was killed and several others injured in an explosion at a site in the Port of Rotterdam, police said.

The blast occurred shortly after midday at a company on Moezelweg in Europoort. Police said they were still investigating the incident and had no further details at the time, Dutch News reports.

Several people were injured and taken to hospital. Emergency services deployed six ambulances, a trauma helicopter and firefighting crews to the scene.

A contracted maintenance team had been working on pipelines at the site when something may have gone wrong as the pipes were being disconnected. Signs of an explosion were reportedly visible on a storage tank.

The incident came hours after a power outage disrupted operations at the Esso refinery on Botlekweg, where large flames and black smoke were seen over the port as gas lines were emptied.

The Rotterdam-Rijnmond safety authority said it had not determined whether the two incidents were connected.

By Vafa Guliyeva