At least 3 dead, 8 injured in Spanish factory explosion

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - At least three people were killed and eight others injured after a powerful explosion at a plastic factory in Spain's Valencia region on Wednesday, according to local media reports.

Sergio Carrasco, the mayor of the Ibi, the town where the explosion occurred, said the son of the company’s owner was rushed to a hospital in Valencia with severe injuries, according to the local daily Levante.

The explosion happened around noon at Climber S.A., a plastic factory.

Reports indicate that a catastrophic boiler failure triggered the blast, causing the factory’s roof and walls to collapse.

Emergency workers rescued several employees trapped in the rubble.

Witnesses told Levante that the blast was “tremendous,” adding that they could hear screams and people calling for help from inside.

The explosion also damaged a neighboring cardboard factory.

The deadly incident came just days after another worker in Valencia died while inspecting a building damaged by catastrophic flooding late last month.

Wednesday’s explosion took place in an area of the region of Valencia that was not impacted by the recent floods.