Explosion at German Flame Retardant Plant Kills One Worker

One worker was killed and several others injured in an explosion and fire in a boiler at a chemical plant in Pirna, Germany, on Dec. 1.

The cause of the explosion and the extent of the damage were not immediately known. Neither the name of the company owning the plant nor the name of the chemical being produced was disclosed.

Authorities at the site near Dresden said the immediate vicinity of the plant was cordoned off, 20 homes temporarily evacuated and nearby residents advised to keep doors and windows closed.

The plant manager, identified by German media as Jochen Seifert, said expanded capacity at the facility that produces a flame retardant for textiles was being ramped up.

At the time of the explosion, around 30 of the plant's 120 employees are said to have been in the building, which the town's mayor Klaus-Peter Hanke said was relatively new. Hanke added that safety standards at the unnamed company were "always at a high level."