What happened

A fire broke out in the air intake of a gas turbine generator at Equinor's Hammerfest LNG plant on Melkøya around 3:30pm, after intake filters — unreplaced since 2015 despite a two-year replacement schedule — were likely clogged by insects and auto-ignited. The six-hour blaze caused no injuries but damaged the air intake and, through seawater used for firefighting, electrical equipment and over 180km of cable, shutting the plant for about two years. Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority found serious breaches of management and maintenance procedures. This was an accidental industrial incident, not an attack.

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.