A time for answers – seven years after the deadly blast that rocked a town
It was the devastating day when an oil refinery blast left four people dead and another critically injured. Laura Clements looks back at the Milford Haven explosion in 2011
SEVEN years ago an ear-splitting bang and a sweeping spreading cloud of thick black smoke engulfed everything in its path at Milford Haven.
Those who heard and saw it said it was something they would never forget.
Jane Philpott, who saw it from her house in Milford Haven, described the “awful stench” rising up into the air as well as the horrifying realisation that nobody near the blast could have survived it.
On that fateful day an explosion at the Pembroke refinery, owned by oil giant Chevron, killed four workers instantly. Another was left critically ill.
The refinery, now owned by Valero, still casts a shadow over the Milford Haven waterway, the chimney stacks still puncture the skyline, and the huge ships come and go. Life, it seems, goes on.
Yet only now, seven years and four months after the explosion on June 2, 2011, have answers emerged about what happened and who was responsible.
On October 11 this year Valero Energy UK Ltd and B&A Contracts Ltd both admitted health and safety failings for the period leading to the fatal blast.
The families of those who were killed were in court to hear both companies plead guilty but have declined to comment since.
Opened in 1964, the former Chevron oil plant at Rhoscrowther employed 1,400 people and was processing around 200,000 barrels of crude oil a day in 2011.
On the evening of June 2, a routine tank cleaning operation was carried out at one of the storage tanks.
The work was undertaken by Pembrokeshire-based company BDS and its subsidiary B&A Contracts.
A recognised “industry leader” in a highly specialised and risky field, the company prides itself in being a genuine local business built from scratch.
Dennis Riley, Andrew Jenkins and Robert Broome, all from Milford Haven, had worked for the company for many years. On Thursday, June 2, they had waved goodbye to their families as they headed off to work as usual. But something went terribly wrong on that day.
For some reason the 730 cubic metre tank they were working on exploded.
The force was so great that it sent a large fireball into the air, reaching halfway up the refinery chimney stack, said witnesses. All three men would have died instantly.
Identification of their bodies was only possible using DNA samples.
Julie Jones, a fire guard from Pembroke, also died in the blast. Another worker, Andrew Phillips, survived but suffered horrendous burns.
It was the UK’s worst refinery disaster for almost four years.
Emergency services rushed to the scene. Mid and West Wales fire service sent 10 engines to tackle the blaze in the aftermath, alongside Chevron’s own fire fighters.
Residents could only watch as ambulances and fire engines rushed past, heading for the refinery.
At the time Liz Herbert, living in Milford Haven, said: “I looked out of the window and could see black smoke. I went upstairs to get a better view and I could see flames.
“The black smoke was unbelievable considering I’m so far away from it and that was it – we could hear all the sirens going.”
Another person, from Angle, reported seeing a “huge plume of smoke” which filled the sky and stretched some 50 metres across.
A spokesman for the Welsh Ambulance Service said the heat emanating from the flames had hampered their work, making it difficult to identify exactly how many people had been injured.
The next day police officers faced the grim task of removing the bodies from the crumpled wreckage of the tank. Already questions were being asked about how such a tragedy could have happened.
In the days immediately afterwards Chevron suspended nonessential work and launched an investigation into the causes. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also began their own investigation.
The refinery was, and still is, one of the main employers in the western corner of Pembrokeshire.
The four deaths rippled deep through the community.
On the day after the explosion Chevron described how Pembroke refinery was a “very close family”.
It was a sentiment echoed by Brian Summons, the managing director of B&A Contracts, who described his company as “a very close, family-oriented business”.
For those left mourning friends and colleagues it was a bitter pill to swallow.
Rob Noble, from the Old Point House pub, said: “Angle in particular is a village where most, if not all, the community is connected with the refinery or businesses that feed it. And everyone who worked there knew the people who died.”
Perhaps most heartbreaking was the fact that the families of the men who would never come home from work likely heard the blast from the safety of their homes two or three miles away.
The blast robbed 12 children of a mother or father – the three men and one woman killed in the massive explosion included a dad of young twins and two grandparents.
All of the victims lived within just a few miles of the huge refinery and the three men were due to attend a wedding vows renewal ceremony together the following day.
A friend of the three men said: “You could not ask to meet a better bunch of lads – they were hardworking and enjoyed life.
“This tragedy will rip the guts out of the town – so many people will be affected, relatives and friends.”
One man, working alongside those who died, survived the massive explosion. But not before he risked his life trying to save his colleagues.
Dad-of-four Andrew Phillips was said to have been working as a firewatch while the other workers were in one of the storage tanks doing routine maintenance.
When he heard the first two blasts he radioed for help and then went in to try and save his friends. But as he went in a third blast took place.
Mr Phillips sustained horrendous burns and required extensive treatment at the burns unit in Morriston
Hospital, Swansea. He survived a series of surgical operations to treat his shoulders, head, back and chest as well as gruelling skin grafts to his face.
His road to recovery has been long and difficult. While the physical scars may have healed the emotional scars ran deeper.
Although he was hailed a hero after the disaster, Mr Phillips struggled to shake the memory of the explosion at the refinery and underwent treatment for post traumatic stress disorder in the months after.
Known to his friends as “Pansy”, Mr Phillips was still tortured with thoughts of what might have been after returning home from hospital.
The oil worker, racked with guilt for being the only one to survive, could not bring himself to talk about what happened.
Instead it was his wife Angela who described his living hell. She said the family were still uncomfortable talking about that day and that her husband found it difficult to recount the worst day of his life.
In a statement made on behalf of her husband, she said: “I am devastated for the loss of Julie and Andrew, Robert and Denny.
“There isn’t a day that passes that I don’t think of them or their families. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of them. It is all still too difficult to talk about at this time.”
Chevron were quick to launch an investigation in the days after the blast. Their own American investigators jetted in to Wales in a bid to discover the cause of the fatal explosion. At the same time, the HSE announced its own inquiry.
Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police helped out in the early stages, with specialist police teams called in to recover the bodies from the devastated tank.
After the area had been made safe for safety and forensic experts to begin their investigation refinery manager Greg Hanggi said: “We will take every step possible to determine the series of events that led to this tragic incident.
“We want to ensure that any lessons learned from it will be integrated into the business and shared with our industry partners.”
For some who had worked in the industry, though, an accident on this scale was simply inevitable.
A former welder at the site, Tony Spicer, 75, said: “At a refinery you are working within a time-bomb and at any time something can go wrong.
“It is terrible when something like this happens. The lives of four people is a great loss. But this is not the first accident.
“I think that an accident and loss of life is inevitable from time to time. It’s not always human error, it is just something that can happen.”
The investigation seemed to make little progress in the first 12 months, causing “low-key anger” among the community, said Mr Noble.
In May 2012, Dyfed-Powys Police announced two individuals employed by Chevron had been interviewed under caution in relation to alleged offences of gross negligence manslaughter.
Yet even at this stage they warned people not to jump to conclusions.
A spokesman said: “This has taken place as part of the wider investigation, therefore no conclusions should be drawn at this stage.
“In addition inquiries have been made with in excess of 1,800 potential witnesses with over 200 providing statements to date.
“Due to the complex nature of the inquiry, additional detailed investigative work continues to be undertaken by specialist staff from the Health and Safety Laboratory.
“The investigation is also being supported by specialist lawyers from the Crown Prosecution Service and HSE.”
Throughout the process, Chevron and Valero continued to provide their full cooperation to all the investigators.
In 2015 the Crown Prosecution Service concluded there was insufficient evidence to proceed for offences of corporate manslaughter.
A statement, issued by DyfedPowys Police at the time said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has made the decision that, following a review of the evidence in this case, there is insufficient evidence to proceed against any of the companies involved for offences of corporate manslaughter.
“This enquiry was extremely complex and left no stone unturned, whereby many experts and specialists were used to provide the best evidence possible to present to the CPS.”
But the probe was continued by health and safety bosses, using their powers under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and associated legislation.
Nearly three years later it was announced that both Valero and B&A Contracts Ltd would be facing charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The HSE’s deputy director of field operations, Jane Lassey, said: “Following a painstaking and extremely thorough investigation, much of which was conducted jointly with Dyfed-Powys Police, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.”
The families of those who have died have remained silent about life after the loss of their loved ones. Their sons, daughters and grandchildren will have grown up, wives have learned to live without their husbands, parents will have moved on after burying their children.
In the year after the explosion the strength of the community was there for all to see. In August 2011, only two months after the devastating day, thousands gathered at a rugby ground in Hakin for a charity rugby tournament.
In a special event to mark the oneyear anniversary, all personnel at the Valero refinery gathered together for a private remembrance and period of silence to remember the incident.
To honour the ultimate sacrifice paid by the brave four, and survivor Mr Phillips, as well as all those who continue to work in the energy industry, two memorial sculptures now stand in Pembroke and Milford.
The works of art, commissioned by Chevron and unveiled in July 2013, are a reminder of the inherent danger of the industry and the risks taken by the workforce.
One sculpture can be found on The Rath in Milford Haven, while the second piece – a distinctive stone bench constructed of white Portland limestone - sits in Pembroke.
Finally the seven-year wait for answers is coming to an end. On Thursday, October 11, Valero Energy UK Ltd and B&A Contracts Ltd appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court.
Both admitted to failings in their health and safety procedures in the period leading up to the oil refinery explosion.
Valero pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to ensure the health and safety and welfare at work of all employees and failing to ensure the health and safety and welfare at work on non-employees. Both charges were for dates between February 17, 1999, and June 3, 2011.
B&A Contracts Ltd also pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the health and safety and welfare at work of all employees and failing to ensure the health and safety and welfare at work of non-employees for a period between October 6, 2010, and June 3, 2011.
Valero and B&A Contracts Ltd are now due to appear at Swansea Crown Court for sentencing on November 2.
It will be little comfort to the families who must carry on with their lives, knowing they will never see their loved ones again.
For Andrew Phillips, he must go on with life carrying the burden that he could not save his colleagues.
But there is hope that for those who continue to work in the energy industry, and in the refinery which still stands proud at the mouth of the Milford Haven waterway, that lessons have been learned.