1 dead, several wounded in Rotterdam port explosion

1 dead, several wounded in Rotterdam port explosion Rotterdam is Europe’s largest port and comprises oil refineries, liquefied natural gas terminals and multiple petrochemical facilities A blast at a storage facility for petroleum products at the Netherlands’ Rotterdam port killed one person and wounded several others on Thursday, officials said, adding that the cause was unknown. A spokesperson for major energy commodities trading company Gunvor said an “incident” occurred during maintenance work on a storage tank. A police spokesperson said that there was no immediate sign of sabotage and that all possible scenarios were under investigation. Rotterdam is Europe’s largest port and comprises oil refineries, liquefied natural gas terminals and multiple petrochemical facilities. Shell, ExxonMobil, BP and Gunvor Energy are among the energy majors operating at the port. The explosion occurred at around 11.30am. Gunvor said it was cooperating with local authorities. Shell said its operations at the port were unaffected by the blast.