Fire at Redcar steel plant

Around 50 firefighters attended a fire at a steel-making factory in Teeside after an explosion at the works.

Around 11 fire crews were called to SSI, in Redcar at around 5am when a fire broke out at the plant and spent over an hour extinguishing the blaze.

Bosses at SSI, reported that there was “minor explosion” but that there were no casualties.

A spokesperson for the plant said: “It happened about 5am and fire crews left about 6am. Operations did not cease but more importantly nobody was injured.”

The fire is the latest in a long line of setbacks at the company.

Phil Dryden, chief executive of SSI UK, said: “Although this has been a very tough year for steel businesses across the globe, the plant has operated extremely well since the restart and this is another important milestone reached. It is a demonstration of the commitment shown by SSI UK employees and is testament to the support received from all the stakeholders involved in the rebirth of iron and steelmaking on Teesside.”