Spain: dead, six injured and missing in chemical plant explosion - David Oliete / AP / SIPA

One dead, six injured and one missing. This is the provisional human toll of the explosion followed by a fire that occurred Tuesday in a chemical factory in Tarragona, in the northeast of Spain.

The causes of the explosion, which occurred in the IQOXE (Ethylene Oxide Chemical Industries) complex, were not immediately known. Civil Protection assured, for its part, that no "toxic substance" had been detected in the vicinity.

Fire from an ethylene oxide tank

The firefighters indicated that about thirty teams were on site to extinguish the fire which rose from an ethylene oxide tank, and "cool the neighboring tanks".

The regional interior manager in Catalonia, Miquel Buch, "confirmed that six people had been injured, one dead and one missing in the explosion at La Canonja", a town in the province of Tarragona, tweeted his services. While videos showing large flames and columns of smoke circulated on social networks.

Two seriously burned people

A person died inside a building located in a town near the industrial park, which collapsed due to the shock wave, said Civil Protection. The explosion in the factory left six people injured, including two seriously burned, and four others with lighter injuries. Finally, a person who worked on the spot is missing, according to the services of the regional interior manager.

Initially, the authorities asked the population of several neighboring localities to confine themselves to their homes, but the measure only applies to a few areas in the immediate vicinity of the industrial park. "Environmental units that have visited the site report that no toxic airborne substance has been detected in the area," said Civil Protection.

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