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Port Talbot explosion: Tata restarts two furnaces

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A fireman assesses the damage on the site
Image caption,

The explosion occured when a train carrying molten metal derailed

Two blast furnaces at Tata's biggest UK steelworks have been restarted after a large explosion left two workers with burns.

A train carrying molten metal derailed at the Port Talbot plant shortly after 03:30 BST on Friday. An investigation is under way.

Tata Steel said its fourth and fifth furnaces had been successfully restarted.

Hub manager Martin Brunnock praised staff for their professionalism.

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Images and footage posted on social media showed a large mushroom cloud and plumes of smoke rising above the plant.

Two workers were aboard the train - carrying a "torpedo" which holds the molten metal - when it derailed, leading to the metal coming into contact with cold water.

Tata said one worker had a burn to the head and the other to the chest, and were later released after treatment for minor burns.

Media caption,

Tata Steel said the explosion came from a train used to carry molten metal

The site had reopened by 07:00 Friday but production at furnaces four and five were halted in order for checks to be completed.

Tata said supply to customers had been uninterrupted.