Explosion rips through US plastics factory

An explosion followed by a raging fire ripped through a plastics factory in Kinston, North Carolina tonight, killing at least eight people and sending black, acrid smoke pouring across the countryside. Others were feared trapped in the burning ruins.

A hospital spokeswoman confirmed the fatalities and city manager Ralph Clark said some workers were still believed to be inside the West Pharmaceutical plant hours after the explosion.

"We are trying to get them out," he said.

He had few details, but police said at least 100 workers had failed to contact their families, two hours after the explosion.

The cause of the blast was not immediately known.

The building was still burning at sunset, and the column of smoke rising from the site was punctuated by small, bursting fireballs.

Nearby trees and brush were aflame.

Lee Edwards, who lives next the plant, said he saw debris from two 800ft water towers flying through the air after the blast.

"All I can see is just the black smoke, just billowing up in the air. I mean, the whole sky is black," he said. "That whole building is gone."

Jack Lambert, who works at Segrave Aviation nearby, ran toward the plant to help people get out and saw about a dozen people with burns on their arms and backs.

"It smelt like a bunch of rubber," Lambert said.

The Lenoir County Sheriff’s Department notified the medical examiner eight people had died, said Jane Martin at Pitt Memorial Hospital.

West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. makes pharmaceutical delivery and medical devices.

The company’s website said its Kinston plant employs about 225 people producing syringe plungers and IV supplies.

It wasn’t known how many people were working in the plant at the time of the explosion.

Christopher White, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta, said no aircraft were involved.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the plant was inspected in October, cited for numerous safety violations and fined about $10,000.

State labour spokesman Juan Santos said the fine was reduced to $9,075 in an informal settlement on January 8.