A major fire erupted at the site of one of Britain’s largest defence companies, but there was no nuclear risk, CNN reported. (Updated 30 October at 11:07 a.m.)
Emergency officials said early Wednesday morning that fire crews and police were responding to the blaze at BAE Systems, one of the largest defence contractors in Europe. BAE Systems Submarines, its subsidiary headquartered in Barrow-in-Furness, northwest England, constructs and assembles the UK’s nuclear-powered submarines.
Cumbria Police reported the incident at around 12:44am local time on Wednesday morning. The cause of the fire has not been named.
There is no nuclear risk. However, people living nearby are advised to remain indoors and keep doors and windows closed.
A similar warning was also issued by Cumbria Fire & Rescue Services. Two people were hospitalised with suspected smoke poisoning, the authority added.
Europe’s defence industry has been in the global spotlight recently, especially amid German Rheinmetall’s announcements that it launched a military plant and would build three more in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Russian president Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that the Rheinmetall plant operating in Ukraine would be a legitimate military target for Russian forces.
British ships were already featured in scandals earlier this year. In late January former UK defence secretary Grant Shapps was aboard HMS Vanguard, one of four British nuclear submarines, to observe a failed test launch off the coast of Florida.
