A “significant” fire broke out in BAE Systems’ nuclear submarine shipyard, at about 12.45 am (GMT) on Wednesday in Cumbria, in northwest England, leaving two people injured, The Guardian reported.
Residents noticed “really thick black smoke” emanating from what they thought was a massive fire raging in the complex in Barrow-in-Furness, where the United Kingdom’s multi-billion-pound, nuclear Dreadnought submarines are manufactured.
Cumbria police said that there was no nuclear risk to the local population, but the two injured workers were taken to hospital with suspected smoke inhalation.
Around 200 people were working the night shift at the time the fire broke out.
A Ministry of Defense spokesperson said the Ministry was working closely with emergency services and BAE Systems. “We would like to thank the emergency services for their swift response and wish those who have required hospital treatment a quick recovery,” the spokesman said.
The Cumbria site is one of only a few shipyards in the world capable of designing and building nuclear submarines. The Cumbria plant has constructed all but three of the British Royal Navy’s nuclear-powered submarines since the commissioning of the Dreadnought in 1963.