MOSCOW (MRC) -- An explosion today at BASF's Ludwigshafen, Germany, complex has killed at least two workers and injured six others, the company says. Two more workers are missing following the blast, BASF says.
A separate explosion occurred earlier today at BASF's nearby Lampertheim, Germany, site injuring four workers.
BASF has confirmed that the explosion at Ludwigshafen occurred at about 11.30am local time and was followed by several smaller fires. Two workers died in the accident and two others remain unaccounted for, BASF says. The blast injured six workers, most of whom have been hospitalized, the company says. The blast struck a pipeline at the complex's north harbor. The pipeline transports chemicals to the harbor for storage and onward shipment on the Rhine River. Feedstock such as naphtha and LPG are also unloaded at the north harbor for consumption at Ludwigshafen. Fire fighters are still tackling the blaze.
BASF has warned residents in Ludwigshafen and nearby Mannheim to stay indoors and keep windows closed. The company says it has launched an investigation into the cause of the accident.
BASF has idled 14 production plants at Ludwigshafen as a safety measure, including the site's two steam crackers, and this has resulted in flaring at the site, the company says. The Ludwigshafen crackers have a combined capacity for about 660,000 metric tons/year of ethylene.
IHS Chemical says that BASF is managing the plant shutdowns for a smooth restart. An extensive flow of chemicals passes by barge through the north harbor, IHS Chemical adds. "The olefin markets are relatively well placed to deal with the outage but for a number of derivative sectors a prolonged outage could cause a significant supply issue," says Matthew Thoelke, senior director/olefins and derivatives, EMEA at IHS Chemical. "There could be a long-term logistics issue and it will take some time to determine the full impact."
The explosion at Lampertheim, where BASF makes additives for plastics, coatings, and cosmetics, happened at about 8.30am and injured four workers, who have been hospitalized, BASF says. The company says that the causes of the incident are not yet known. Plants at the site, which have a combined capacity of about 40,000 metric tons/year, have been taken offline, BASF says. The Lampertheim site's products include flame retardants and antioxidants.
Police have ruled out terrorism as the possible cause of the incidents, BASF says.
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas.
MRC