AT LEAST ONE person was killed and several injured in an explosion at a Rotterdam port refinery belonging to the Dutch subsidiary of the Swiss-based Gunvor Group on Thursday, police said.

Rotterdam police told AFP that the explosion occurred around 11.30am (8.30am Irish time) at the Gunvor Energy Rotterdam site in Europoort – the Netherlands port that forms part of one of the world’s largest chemical and petrochemical industrial zones.

Several ambulances and a medical helicopter were deployed shortly after the explosion, according to regional media.

Authorities confirmed one fatality but were unable to specify the number of injured people or their condition.

“This morning a contractor was carrying out maintenance activities in a tank pit and during the works, an incident occurred,” a spokesperson for Gunvor Energy Rotterdam told AFP.

Police officers walk outside the refinery Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

An AFP reporter at the scene observed signs of the explosion at the site.

“We are considering all scenarios and are conducting the investigation with multiple parties,” Rotterdam police spokesman Dean Valkenburg said.

“This includes forensic investigators, and the labour inspectorate is also present. The investigation will have to determine how and what exactly happened.”

The company stated that it was cooperating with the authorities.