BASF reported Oct. 18 that the fire at its Ludwigshafen site was extinguished around 9:30 p.m. Oct. 17. The company now says two employees, both company firefighters, died as a result of the fire. Eight people were seriously injured and 17 others received light injuries. One person is still missing.
BASF said that the explosion occurred during work on a pipeline. The pipelines that burned included ones with ethylene and propylene product.
BASF said that since the raw material supply is still interrupted, the steam crackers remain shut down. Around 20 other plants are either shutdown or only partially running at the large chemical complex.