TEN fire crews were called to a suspected explosion which has left a tower on fire at a Thurrock oil storage depot.

Crews rushed to the scene at Petroplus, formerly known as BP, in Coryton near Corringham, at around 11am today.

Fire has been reported on the ground floor of a tower.

100 feet high flames were said to have risen up the column of the Naptha tower.

A major foam attack was put into progress and cooling monitors are in use.

Essex fire services' specialist petrochemical officer ADO Mark Samuels is at the scene.

Crews from Corringham, Grays and Orsett are among those in attendance. At 12.30pm a precautionary search was launched for staff reported missing on site. All people have now been accounted for.At 1.30pm the fire was still burning in the tower. Monitor jets are being put onto hydrogen plant.Crews wearing breathing apparatus had conducted a search and rescue operation in the immediate area.Crews on the scene report cooling operations are going well and estimate no further risk of development.They are also checking structural integrity of the tower and considering removing the product inside the tower. Essex crews are still standing by.There are no plans to evacuate homes at this stage.A Petroplus spokesperson said: "The company has activated its emergency response plan."Petroplus on site emergency services are currently being deployed. The emergency services have been informed and are attending."Evacuations of the affected areas of the refinery are occurring and roll calls are currently being carried out."The road to the Refinery, the Manorway, is being closed by the police and members of the public are being warned to avoid this area.Police have commandeered East Thurrock Football Club's car park as an emergency base.The Swiss oil company Petroplus brought the Coryton Refinery from BP in May 2007.The complex, which was originally commissioned in 1953, has a refining capacity of 10 million tonnes a year.

Emergency services have ensured all staff at the terminal are accounted for and it has been confirmed there were no casualties as a result of the explosion.

Unconfirmed reports suggest the explosion came from a chimney used to let off gases from the terminal, away from the main plant.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Mark Hardingham who is at the scene, said: "We are no longer searching the area and are happy that everyone has been accounted for. There have been no casualties.

"We are now involved in tactical meetings to decide on the next phase of action to extinguish the fire. Two foam lines have been laid out as a precaution at this stage."

He added: "This is a site that is well known to us and we regularly visit the refinery to carry out training exercises with Petroplus' own petrochemical experts in preparation for this type of event.

We are confident we have sufficient expertise and resources in place to bring the incident to a satisfactory conclusion."