A 56-year-old worker has died with two others sustaining light injuries following an explosion at a chemical plant in Japan's Niigata Prefecture on Wednesday, local authorities said.

Senji Watanabe and two other male co-workers in their 30s and 40s, respectively, were cutting pipes at chemical maker Denka Co.'s plant in Itoigawa on Japan's coast facing the Sea of Japan when the explosion occurred, local police and firefighters said.

An emergency call made Wednesday morning said there was a small explosion at the plant, resulting in at least one injured person, adding that Watanabe was showing no vital signs when he was taken to the hospital.

==Kyodo

© Kyodo News International, Inc., source Newswire