Explosion at Umicore in Olen after car crashed into tank, woman in mortal danger: “Large flame and loud bang” (Olen)

An explosion occurred in one of the departments at the metal company Umicore in Sint-Jozef-Olen (Olen) on Wednesday evening. That was followed by a short fire. One person suffered serious injuries.

The incident occurred on Wednesday at 10 p.m. A woman drove her car into a tank installation at the Umicore plant in Watertorenstraat. It was filled with hydrogen, which exploded due to the collision. This was accompanied by a flash of flame, after which a fire broke out.

The fire brigade from the Kempen emergency zone quickly brought the fire under control, but remained on site for a while to cool the other tanks. The explosion in the company was accompanied by a loud bang, which also startled the neighborhood. The municipality of Olen called on all local residents to keep the area clear, because the emergency services were present in large numbers.

“I saw a red light passing by,” a local resident told VRT. “I first thought it was a fast cyclist, but it turned out to be a car that drove into the embankment (slope next to the road, ed.) and was catapulted,” said the man. “Shortly afterwards we saw a large flash of flame and a loud bang. We immediately walked inside, because I thought everything was going to explode, so I called the emergency services.”

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The driver who crashed into the tank suffered serious injuries. When the fire brigade arrived, the woman was no longer in her vehicle. She was taken to hospital in a serious condition and under police escort. The police and the company are now investigating where the car came from.

No employee

Seppe Bouquillon, the mayor of Olen (CD&V), confirms that it was not a company car and that the woman therefore entered the domain from outside with her car and then collided with the tank. The company itself also confirms that it is not an employee. She came from Kerkstraat, which ends at a dead end on the company grounds.