Fourth Fatality From German Chemical Plant Explosion
Preliminary investigation suggests angle grinder spark triggered blast after pipe was cut
A fourth person has died because of an explosion and fire at German chemical giant BASF’s Ludwigshafen headquarters, as company officials slowly get operations running again and an official investigation moves forward as to whether a maintenance contractor cut a pipeline by mistake. Three BASF firefighters and a Polish sailor died and several others were injured as a result of the Oct. 17 explosion along a riverside loading dock in Ludwigshafen, in south-central Germany across the Rhein river from the city of Mannheim.
BASF company spokeswoman Sabrina van der Pütten says the company is giving no further updates yet about the contractor or its past safety record.