Explosion at BASF German Plant

German chemicals giant BASF said on Monday that several people had been injured and some were missing after an explosion at its facility in Ludwigshafen, where the company is headquartered. The factory's steam crackers was shut down for safety reasons following the incident, a BASF spokeswoman said, Reuters reported. The cause of the explosion at around 11:30 a.m. local time at its Landeshafen Nord facility was being investigated, the company said. Residents in the western cities of Ludwigshafen and neighboring Mannheim were asked to remain inside and keep their doors and windows closed as a black pall of smoke spread from the blaze. According to reports, BASF is planning to invest more than $6 billion in a petrochemical megaproject in southern Iran. The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries and operates six integrated production sites and 390 other production sites in Europe, Asia, Australia, Americas and Africa. In 2014, BASF posted around $82 billion in revenues.