An explosion at BASF’s Ludwigshafen, Germany, site occurred on a supply line connecting a harbor and a tank depot. Reports state that two people died, six people were injured and several people are missing. The blast occurred at around 11:30 a.m. local time (5.30 a.m. ET) on Oct. 17, BASF said. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.
According to a press release from Reuters, BASF said it turned off 14 facilities near the blast site for safety reasons, including its two steam crackers, large units that make important basic chemical components.
The Ludwigshafen site, 50 miles south of Frankfurt, covers an area of four square miles and employs 39,000 workers, according to BASF.
