Fatal blast at Mitsubishi chemical factory in Japan

At least five people have been killed and 12 injured
in an explosion at a chemical factory in central
Japan.
The blast occurred in the afternoon at the plant run
by Mitsubishi Materials in Yokkaichi city, Mie
prefecture.

Maintenance crews were cleaning out a heat
exchanger used in the production of silicon
products when the blast happened, officials said.
It is not clear at this stage what caused the
explosion, the BBC’s Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
reports from Japan.
The plant manufactures polymers and uses a
number of highly-volatile chemicals including
hydrogen and chlorine, he adds.
Thursday’s blast at the plant – based some 350km
(220 miles) west of Tokyo – killed five of the
maintenance workers on the spot.
The number of injured has ranged, in reports, from
12 to 17.
Emergency officials said there had been no fire and
the situation was quickly contained.
Mitsubishi Materials – a division of the huge
Mitsubishi Corporation – makes a range of
automotive, electronics, and construction and
engineering products.