A giant ‘fireball’ lit up the sky over Oxfordshire last night

In what could seem like a slightly troubling omen for the future of mankind, a massive ball of light was seen exploding over the Oxfordshire skies last night. During a huge lightning storm in the area, locals described hearing a loud bang and seeing a ‘fireball’ blazing on the horizon. 

Footage shared on social media shows a large expanse of the sky set aglow by a pyramid of flames below.

Anybody else in Oxford just see that fireball
?? Loud explosion and then the sky just did this ?? ( keep in mind it’s supposed to be dark ) pic.twitter.com/Yzj693eKF2

— Stuart Hosking (@Stuartbigbro2) October 2, 2023

Woah what’s happened/happening in Oxford pic.twitter.com/3IpyDJDlKy

— leilani dowding 🌸🚜 ☮️ (@LeilaniDowding) October 2, 2023

One witness told the Oxford Mail that they saw a ‘strange pulsing sky out of our windows’ and another wrote on social media that ‘the sky was glowing for about two minutes and then it just disappeared’. 

Fortunately, it doesn't look like the apocalypse is arriving any time soon. Severn Trent Green Power confirmed that the fire started after a lightning strike hit a recycling plant, making contact with a biogas container at its Cassington AD Facility near Oxford airport at around 7:20pm. 

Thames Valley police said in a statement: ‘It is believed that lightning struck gas containers at the site during bad weather this evening, causing a large fire'. 

Thankfully no one was injured, but there were several power outages in the area following the incident. Despite troubling portents, it looks like humanity is safe. For now. 

ICYMI: A sapling planted to restore ‘hope’ at Sycamore Gap has been removed