Breaking fast, so there's not a lot of detail yet.
Reports coming in of a huge explosion at a chemical plant in Geismar, LA. The blast apparently happened at about 8:30 a.m. local time.
Injuries are reported at the Williams Olefins plant.
Yahoo has the story here.
According to the company's website:
The Geismar, La. facility annually produces approximately 1.3 billion pounds of ethylene and 90 million pounds of polymer grade propylene. Also in Louisiana, the olefins team is responsible for the ethane transportation business consisting of approximately 200 miles of pipelines, as well as a refinery-grade propylene splitter.
The news story says:
The local fire department said it was treating an unknown number of injured people after the blast, which occurred at a plant along the Mississippi River just south of Baton Rouge. Online images showed a large plume of smoke at the plant.
Corey Gautreaux, captain of City of Gonzales Fire Department, said emergency responders were treating people at the scene. There were no immediate reports of fatalities.
"It's an active scene. The fire department, the sheriff's office and hazmat (hazardous materials) team are responding to the explosion at the Williams Olefins plant," said Amy Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Ascension Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
Will update as new information comes in.