What happened

A steel tower with long-standing, previously identified corrosion partially collapsed at Esso's Fawley refinery, rupturing pipework and releasing about 2,400kg of LPG over roughly 33 hours without ignition. Workers nearby were exposed to a serious fire and falling-debris risk. The UK Health and Safety Executive found the corrosion had been identified as early as 2010 without adequate action, and fined Esso £1 million in 2026.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.