Explosion at Hungary petrochemical plant kills 1, injures 7

TISZAÚJVÁROS, Hungary (AP) — One person died and several others were injured in an explosion at a petrochemical plant in Hungary on Friday, according to a statement from Hungarian energy company Mol Group, which owns the facility.

The explosion at Tiszaújváros in eastern Hungary occurred during the plant’s restart after maintenance, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said in a post on social media. He added that 7 people received burn injuries during the explosion.

According to Minister of Economy and Energy István Kapitány, five helicopters transported the injured to hospitals in the cities of Miskolc and Debrecen. In a social media post, Kapitány wrote that the mobile disaster response laboratory did not detect any concentrations of hazardous substances above the threshold limit.

Magyar said both Kapitány and Mol CEO Zsolt Hernádi headed to the explosion site.

“We express our sincere condolences to the family of the deceased and wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” Magyar said on Facebook.

A spokesman for the regional disaster management authority told state news agency MTI that the fire caused by the explosion at the facility had been extinguished. Dávid Dojcsák said that cleaning efforts are still continuing and emergency units have secured the area.