3Com's European HQ damaged in oil depot blast

The company said there will be minimal impact on customers

By Sumner Lemon

December 11, 2005 12:00 PM ET

IDG News Service - 3Com Corp. said today that an explosion at an oil depot in Hemel Hempstead, England, damaged the headquarters of its regional operations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The company said there were no injuries among its employees as a result of the blast.

A series of explosions at the Buncefield fuel depot near Hemel Hempstead took place at 6 a.m., local time, injuring 43 people and forcing more than 2,000 others to be evacuated from their homes, according to local news reports. The explosions reportedly shattered windows and blew the roofs off nearby homes.

Explosions continued at the site throughout the day, according to local reports. While the cause of the blasts had not been discovered, authorities appeared to rule out the possibility of a terrorist attack, they said.

3Com's Hemel Hempstead office is located roughly one quarter of a mile from the site of the explosions, the company said. There are 300 people employed at the office, primarily in sales, marketing and product operations groups.

3Com did not detail the damage caused by the blasts.

The company's emergency response team has been in contact with its employees and contractors that work at Hemel Hempstead and has activated its backup systems, the company said. There will be minimal impact on customers while 3Com works to restore the affected operations, it said.

Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2009 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

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