Four killed in large blast in western England

Four people were killed Thursday following a large explosion at a waste water treatment works in Avonmouth, near the southwestern city of Bristol in western England, local police confirmed.

The victims include three employees of Wessex Water, and one contractor, according to the police.

The explosion is not being treated as terror-related and is believed to have involved one of the chemical tanks at Wessex Water’s Bristol water recycling centre.

In its latest tweet, Avon and Somerset Police said that “there is not believed to be any ongoing public safety concerns following the incident this morning.”

However, the police urged the public to avoid the area if possible to enable emergency services to carry out their work.

According to Avon and Somerset police chief inspector Mark Runacres, officers remain at the scene and are likely to be for some time as they are dealing with this “major incident”.