Blast at BASF Plant Kills One, Injures at Least Six

By Monica Houston-Waesch 

FRANKFURT-- BASF SE said one person was confirmed dead, at least six were seriously injured and another six were missing after an explosion and resulting fires at its Ludwigshafen plant complex on Monday, prompting the chemical company to power down 14 facilities there.

BASF said the cause of the blast was unknown, but that it took place at 0920 GMT during work on a pipeline system at the factory complex in Ludwigshafen, the company's headquarters. Firefighters remain at the scene working to douse the flames, BASF and city officials said at a press briefing.

"There is visible smoke. Residents in the affected areas of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim have been asked to stay indoors and to keep doors and windows shut," BASF said.

"We deeply regret that one employee has died and several others are injured. Our sympathies are with the victims and their families," BASF's Ludwigshafen factory director Uwe Liebelt said.

Earlier, BASF said it was powering down its steamcracker, and at the briefing Mr. Liebelt said 14 facilities were shut down "for safety reasons."

A BASF spokeswoman later said both of the complex's cracker facilities, the starting point for production lines of various products, were shut down. It remains unclear if the cracker operations and productions lines can be restarted on Tuesday, she said.

"We hope that we can finish putting out the fires this evening so that we can resolve the uncertainty regarding the missing employees," Peter Friedrich, Ludwigshafen's fire chief said.

BASF shares close down 1.2% at EUR78.28 ($85.86).

Write to Monica Houston-Waesch at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 17, 2016 12:06 ET (16:06 GMT)

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