PARIS — An explosion followed by a fire Wednesday at a French factory treating dangerous substances left at least one person critically injured, according to local authorities.
The cause of the explosion, which sent a huge cloudburst of gray smoke over the area, is being investigated.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control soon after the explosion at the Saipol oil products factory in the port of Sete, on the Mediterranean coast, the prefecture for the surrounding Herault region said in a statement.
One factory employee was hospitalized in critical condition, and some 200 others were evacuated after the explosion, the prefecture said. Authorities are conducting tests for eventual toxicity in the surrounding air and soil.
The…
