A UNION has released new images showing the damage caused during a "major incident" involving one of the giant structures at Fawley refinery.
It comes as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) continues to investigate the incident, which caused widespread alarm among people living in the Fawley area.
Workers have been told that a leak of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) resulted in part of the refinery being sealed off.
Last week Unite, which represents some of the 2,500 people employed at the site, said a 100-tonne steel platform collapsed.
Now Unite has released new images showing the aftermath of the incident.
The GMB union has also entered the debate, claiming the partial collapse of a cooling unit ruptured a pipe, causing the gas leak.
READ MORE: Fawley refinery: Unite says 100-tonne platform collapsed
Hythe district councillor Malcolm Wade told the Daily Echo: "ExxonMobil focuses heavily on health and safety but because their site is so close to homes any accident is of concern."
The incident occurred on November 8 and resulted in the use of two flares, which could be seen for miles around."
In a statement issued at the time, ExxonMobil said: "Earlier this evening we experienced an operational issue on one of our units. Our own on-site teams are responding and working to address the situation and isolate the unit in question.
"We are using our flares, which are part of our standard safety and operational procedures, to assist with this work."
Unite regional organiser Malcolm Bonnett emailed the refinery the next day and demanded an explanation.
He said: "This is a major incident and it’s being treated like a stroll in the park. Extremely lucky no one was killed."
READ MORE: Fawley refinery: Flares lit during 'operational incident'
An internal memo sent to Fawley staff on November 9 confirmed an LPG leak had occurred.
It added: "Our onsite response teams moved quickly to address this and safely isolated the unit. There were no injuries and the incident is fully under control."
ExxonMobil said: "Safety is our top priority and we take any such incidents very seriously.
"We are investigating the incident and fully cooperating with the Health and Safety Executive.
"The cause of the incident has not yet been determined and it would be wrong and unhelpful to speculate until that work is complete."
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