Daily Times

LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany: One person was killed and at least six others were missing after an explosion on Monday at a chemical plant at BASF’s headquarters in western Germany, the firm said, advising local residents to stay indoors.

The blast, which occurred around 11:30 am (0930 GMT) and triggered a huge fire, happened during work on a pipeline that transports raw materials, the global chemicals giant said in a statement. “We regret to announce one dead, at least six injured and at least six missing,” BASF executive Uwe Liebelt told reporters in Ludwigshafen.

A police official at the same press conference spoke of “six seriously injured and an unknown number of light injuries”. A large fire and a huge column of grey smoke could be seen rising from the site, a vast industrial complex with a harbour on the Rhine river. “We have not been able to establish any danger to the population,” Liebelt added, after residents in Ludwigshafen and nearby Mannheim were told to remain inside and shut doors and windows.

Local authorities had also asked nurseries and schools to keep children indoors, but no evacuations were ordered. “Emergency services from the whole region are on the scene to prevent the fire spreading to other parts of the plant,” Ludwigshafen city authorities said in a statement earlier in the day.

Firefighters were still trying to extinguish the flames by 1330 GMT, while police had blocked off nearby roads, an AFP reporter at the scene said. “We hope to have the fire under control by this evening,” a spokesman for the local fire services told reporters at the same press conference in Ludwigshafen. BASF said that it was still investigating the precise cause of the blast.