Five men dead in Boston industrial estate explosion

The five men were killed instantly in the explosion

Five men have died and one man has been seriously injured in an explosion at a small unit on a Lincolnshire industrial estate.

Police, fire and ambulance crews were called to the Broadfield Lane Industrial Estate at about 1900 BST on Wednesday.
A Lincolnshire Police spokeswoman said she believed the explosion had been very quick and the men died instantly.
The sixth man has been taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.
Unconfirmed reports from local residents said they believed the men may have been migrant workers brewing illegal alcohol in the industrial unit.
Nerys McGarry from Lincolnshire Police said officers were at the scene and would remain at the unit overnight to carry out a forensic examination of the site.
She said it was not yet clear what had caused the blast.

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Eyewitnesses told me they had seen a man run out of the building with his arm on fire”

End Quote Scott Dalton BBC Radio Lincolnshire

Ms McGarry said she understood the explosion was a rapid blast as opposed to an "extensive fire" but could not give any further details.

"We do not have any further information about the men, their ages and where they are from but we will be making inquires throughout the night and can give a further update in the morning," she said.
BBC Radio Lincolnshire reporter Scott Dalton, who is at the scene, said residents in the area had seen thick, black smoke coming from the industrial estate.
"Locals have been telling me they didn't even hear an explosion or even a bang, they just saw a lot of thick, black smoke.
"One gentleman who lives nearby said he thought if the blast hadn't killed them, the aftermath of the thick black smoke would have done.
"Other eyewitnesses told me they had seen a man run out of the building with his arm on fire. It all seems to have happened very quickly," he said.