LUDWIGSHAFEN (dpa-AFX) - According to the company and the police, 15 employees were slightly injured in an explosion and subsequent fire at the main plant of the chemical company BASF in Ludwigshafen. They were examined in the plant ambulance as a precautionary measure, but were able to leave again afterwards, the company, which is based in the second largest city in Rhineland-Palatinate, announced. The fire was extinguished by the plant fire department.

Environmental monitoring vehicles were on the move inside and outside the site. These were able to detect slightly elevated levels of hydrocarbons within the site and in parts adjacent to the plant. "There was no danger to the population at any time," the company said. The explosion occurred in the southern plant section of the world's largest chemical company./wo/DP/jha