Five men have been killed and a sixth has been seriously injured in an explosion at an industrial estate in Lincolnshire.
Police, fire and ambulance crews were called to the Broadfield Lane Industrial Estate in Boston at about 1900 BST on Wednesday.
A Lincolnshire Police spokeswoman said she believed the men died instantly in the force of the explosion.
Police are investigating claims the men may have been brewing illegal alcohol.
A spokesman for the force appealed for anyone with information about the men and what activity was taking place at the unit to contact officers.
The sixth man was taken to Boston's Pilgrim Hospital but later transferred to the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham.
Arm 'ablaze'
Nerys McGarry, from Lincolnshire Police, said it was not yet clear what had caused the blast.
"We do not have any further information about the men, their ages and where they are from but we will be making inquiries throughout the night and can give a further update in the morning," she said.
BBC Lincolnshire reporter Scott Dalton, who was 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," he said.
Paul Featherstone, who lives nearby, said: "I didn't hear an explosion, I just saw the smoke.
"If the explosion didn't kill them, the smoke would have done because it was that bad. It was thick, black smoke coming through the roller doors."
He added he was told by another eyewitness that one man ran out "with his arm all ablaze".
It is understood this is the man who is now being treated at the QMC.
Steve Moore, area manager with Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the building appeared to have been the scene "of a very hot fire with a very rapid spread".
"When the first crews attended they were faced with a really serious fire and a casualty who was outside the building suffering from burns.
"Their initial reaction was to treat the casualty. The incoming crew then started to fight the fire, it was a really hot, intense fire."
'Great tragedy'
Crews were forced to use hydraulic equipment to get into the unit.
"The intensity of the fire buckled the roller shutters and set alight a car outside," he said.
He added: "For all the firefighters I've spoken to this is the most significant loss of life in a fire that they've ever attended."
Dick Holmes, of Lincolnshire Police, said the five dead men had been killed "pretty much outright".
He described the sixth man as having been "very seriously injured".
The industrial estate was close to the town centre and made up of between 12 and 15 units that were "relatively small", he said.
Boston Central Councillor Peter Bedford described the incident as a "real shock".
"There is heavy industry in that industrial estate, there's a scrap yard, there's joinery works, it's a real mix."
Boston East councillor Mike Gilbert said: "I'm very anxious to find out exactly what's happened. It's a lot of people dead and a great tragedy."
Canon Robin Whitehead, Rector of Boston, said the incident was "extremely sad and tragic".
Broadfield Lane Industrial Estate includes a furniture store, a scrap yard, a tyre firm and a car maintenance business. The site is surrounded by houses and is close to Boston town centre.
source: bbc.co.uk
Lincolnshire Personal Injury
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