Peterborough factory explosion: Two seriously hurt in hospital after carrying out maintenance work on truck

The industrial unit Shrewsbury Avenue the day after the explosion

Two people who were carrying out maintenance work on a truck were left seriously hurt after an explosion at a Peterborough factory yesterday.

The refrigerator truck explosion occurred at an industrial unit in Shrewsbury Avenue, Woodston, at around 4.40pm, prompting a huge medical response including two air ambulances.

It has now been established that the factory was being subleased by XPO Logistics - a global provider of transportation and logistics services - to Nagel Langdons, a chilled and frozen food distributor which is part of the Nagel-Group.

A Nagel-Group spokesperson said: “We can confirm an explosion occurred with one of our Nagel-Group trucks during maintenance work yesterday afternoon in Peterborough.

“Two people working for a subcontractor have been injured and transported to a local hospital. We wish the injured a quick recovery. Our thoughts are with them and their families.

“We are working closely with the investigating authorities in order to determine the cause of the explosion. We hope you will understand that we cannot provide any further information at this stage.”

Police said yesterday two people had been injured, one of whom was seriously injured.

Today a spokeswoman said two people are seriously hurt in hospital, but she declined to give out any further information.

An XPO spokesperson said: “An explosion occurred at an area at our site that we sublease to a customer, and two people were injured. Our thoughts are with both of them as we work with local authorities to gather more information about this incident.”

The Health and Safety Executive said it was aware of explosion but that Peterborough City Council was investigating it.

The council has been approached for comment.

Peterborough factory explosion: Two hurt after ‘refrigerator truck explodes’