An explosion occurred Wednesday at a thermal power plant in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, police and other sources said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries due to the blast at the plant in Taketoyo run by Jera Co., a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. and Chubu Electric Power Co.

Firefighters received an emergency call at around 3:10 p.m. reporting an explosion and that black smoke was rising at the plant.

The explosion apparently occurred on the 13th floor of a building where a fire has begun to spread, with equipment having also caught fire at the complex, according to the local fire department.

==Kyodo

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