A fire broke out following the blast, which happened around 1400 CET, but authorities said that around 1600 CET the situation was under control.
Several people were injured in a blast on Wednesday at military explosives producer Eurenco’s site in Bergerac, southwest France, local authorities said.
The Dordogne region prefecture said in a statement that eight people had been injured, including one with life-threatening injuries.
A fire broke out following the blast, which happened around 1400 CET, but authorities said that around 1600 CET the situation was under control. The prefecture said the blast had had no impact outside the perimeter of the site.
The firm produces military explosives, propellants and fuels. It also makes explosives for civil use.
Bergerac mayor Jonathan Priolead told Reuters that authorities do not yet know what caused the explosion, but it happened in a section dealing with nitrocellulose.
Emergency services remain at the scene, the Dordogne prefecture said.
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
‘It’s still early…’: Rishi Sunak amid reports of rival Liz Truss leading PM race
Voting to pick next UK PM delayed after hacking alert: Report However, polling officials say there are doubts about the reliability of measuring the support among the roughly 200,000 Conservative party members. Truss suffered the first major misstep of her campaign on Tuesday when she was forced to backtrack on one of her most striking pledges a day after announcing it following a backlash from fellow Conservatives and opposition parties.
-
1st Ukraine grain ship passes through Bosphorus en route to Lebanon
The first grain ship to leave a Ukrainian port in wartime passed through the Bosphorus Strait on Wednesday en route to Lebanon for a delivery that foreign powers hope will be the first of many to help ease a global food crisis. The Razoni left Odesa on the Black Sea early on Monday carrying 26,527 tonnes of corn and anchored at the entrance of the Bosphorus Strait on Tuesday night.
-
27 Chinese warplanes enter Taiwan’s air defence zone after Nancy Pelosi’s visit
More than 20 Chinese military planes flew into Taiwan’s air defence zone on Tuesday, officials in Taipei said, as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi began her controversial visit to the self-ruled island that Beijing considers its territory. The island’s defence ministry said in a statement on Twitter: “21 PLA aircraft … entered #Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ on August 2, 2022,” referring to the air defence identification zone.
-
Top Taliban leaders meet to deliberate on US claims of killing Al Qaeda chief
Top leaders of Afghanistan’s Taliban were holding discussions on Wednesday about how to respond to a US drone strike in Kabul that the United States said killed three sources in the group, Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said. The Taliban have not confirmed Zawahiri’s death. An Egyptian doctor, Zawahiri, was closely involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and was one of the world’s most wanted men.
-
China summons US envoy, announces economic measures over Pelosi’s Taiwan visit
China continued on Wednesday to express anger over US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, with foreign minister Wang Yi calling Pelosi’s’ tour a “complete farce”, hours after Beijing summoned US envoy Nicholas Burns to lodge “strong protests” late on Tuesday. An eyewitness told HT that there was unusually heavy security presence around the US embassy, located near other embassies in an upmarket area in Beijing, on Wednesday.