Two BASF firefighters die in Monday’s explosion at German site
Ludwigshafen — German chemicals giant BASF said the two people who died after an explosion and subsequent fire at its flagship production complex at Ludwigshafen on Monday, were both members of the site’s own fire brigade. They were responding to a minor fire near the river harbour housing the huge complex of plants on Monday morning, when a pipe exploded, which most likely contained propylene or ethylene, BASF told journalists at a news conference on Tuesday. The resulting blaze took fire fighters 10 hours to extinguish and forced BASF to shut down more than 20 facilities, including its two steam crackers, which produce the basic hydrocarbon chemicals used to produce a wide range of plastics and other chemicals. The harbour at which the explosion occurred serves as a terminal for taking in combustible fluids such as naphtha and methanol, which are important for BASF’s supply of raw materials. One person is still missing following the blast and is believed to be in the water. Six of...
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