'Nasty' Orange Plume Hangs Over Northern English Town

A large orange plume hovered over Billingham, England, on Friday, May 24, following reports of a chemical explosion near the town.

Footage recorded by @gibgod shows the cloud. “Nice plume of nasty-looking stuff has just come out of Billingham manufacturing plant, and now all the alarms are going off … Close your windows and doors, Billingham!” they wrote on X.

The Northern Echo quoted a spokesperson for CF Fertilisers as saying: “At approximately 12:20 pm today, there was an incident at one of the Billingham Complex’s nitric acid plants that resulted in a release of nitrous oxide. The plant’s safety system worked as designed and the plant was shut down safely, stopping the release within five minutes. The incident is over and there is no risk to the public.”

Cleveland Fire and Rescue Service said two fire engines attended an industrial site on Haverton Hill following a “small release of a gas from the facility.”

Crews left the scene at 1.07 pm local time, the fire service said.

“There has been assurance that the release of the gas quickly dispersed within the atmosphere, resulting in no off-site implications for members of the public,” the fire service added. Credit: @gibgod via Storyful