Banksmeadow cooling tower fire: Evacuation order over plastic plant fears near Sydney Airport
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Mass evacuations amid fears a 70m tower near Sydney airport could COLLAPSE and cause a huge explosion
- Huge fire inside the cooling tower at the Banksmeadow factory
- 800 m exclusion zone established on Tuesday afternoon
A mass evacuation zone has been set up near Sydney airport after a cooling tower at a plastics factory caught fire, raising fears it could fall on hydrogen tanks.
The fire inside the 70-metre-high cooling tower prompted an evacuation order for 800 meters in Banksmeadow, in south-east Sydney, on Tuesday afternoon just before 4pm.
Several highly flammable hydrogen tanks are stored on semi-trailers on a neighboring property to the plastic plant.
If the burning cooling tower falls on the hydrogen tanks, it could cause a huge explosion.
Firefighters, HAZMAT emergency teams and drones are on the scene to observe the fire.
The emergency is believed to have started around 6 a.m. Tuesday morning after flames were detected coming from an exhaust stack at the plant.
Firefighters attended the scene but left soon after because they believed there was little risk.
They returned hours later after the wooden support supporting the plant’s cooling tower was damaged.
More to come.
Emergency services have set up a 800 meter exclusion zone around a Banksmeadow recycling plant out of fear it could explode after a cooling tower caught fire.
Hydrogen gas tanks are stored nearby on semi-trailers on a neighboring property