Eight hurt in factory explosion

3 October 2011 Last updated at 10:13 ET

Eight people have been injured amid reports of an explosion during a large fire at a factory in Surrey.

Fire crews have been tackling the blaze at the Hobbs industrial estate in East Grinstead Road, Lingfield, since about 11:30 BST.

Ambulance crews said up to 30 paramedics attended the scene and treated eight patients.

One patient has been taken to a hospital in London by the air ambulance.

A spokeswoman for East Surrey Hospital Trust said five people were being treated at Redhill Hospital for injuries.

A fire service spokeswoman said the cause of the blaze was not yet known.

‘Massive, massive bang’

The explosion was heard by people at the nearby London England Temple.

One engineer, who did not want to be named, said he was working on a roof near the boundary of the temple’s 32-acre grounds, when he heard a loud bang.

The explosion was heard by people at the nearby London England Temple

“There was a massive, massive bang, a large bang, with a little after-bang but that was it,” he said.

He said a lot of smoke could be seen near the industrial estate, and two helicopters also hovered near the scene.

Christine Brooks, 59, a waitress at the Peacock Lodge pub in Newchapel, said up to 150 workers from the industrial estate had been evacuated from the to the pub.

She said there had been a “huge vibration” and “everything just shook”.

— ’re ’s , . : A ‘Malign Intellectual Subculture’ – George Monbiot Smears Chomsky, Herman, Peterson, Pilger And Media Lens.