Five killed in blast at industrial estate

FIVE men died last night in an explosion at an industrial unit, said police.

The blast happened on the Broadfield Lane industrial estate in Boston, Lincolnshire, shortly after 7:30pm.

A sixth man was taken to hospital with serious injuries and was later transfered to Nottingham.

A police spokeswoman said: "Five men have been confirmed dead.

"Inquiries will be ongoing throughout the night to establish the cause of this explosion. The circumstances at the moment are still unclear. There will be a full forensic examination of the unit."

A woman who lives near the industrial estate and declined to be named said: "My daughter said that she had seen a large number of emergency service vehicles."

Boston Central Councillor Peter Bedford said he was shocked by the news.

He said: "We don't expect that kind of thing to happen in Boston. It's a small market town, predominantly agricultural.

"There is heavy industry in that industrial estate, there's a scrapyard, there's joinery works, it's a real mix."

Boston East councillor Mike Gilbert said: "I'm very anxious to find out exactly what's happened. It's a lot of people dead and a great tragedy."