Fire breaks out at Dow Louisiana facility

[July 15, 2023]  (Reuters) - A fire broke out at Dow's Plaquemine chemical facility in Louisiana, the U.S. chemical maker said in a statement late on Friday.

Everyone at the facility was accounted for and the fire was being managed by the company's Emergency Operations Center, Dow Louisiana said in a statement posted on Facebook, adding that they were in contact with officials. 

A sign is seen at an entrance to a Dow Chemical Co plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana December 12, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman/File Photo

Explosions at the facility in Iberville Parish shook homes in the nearby state capital, Baton Rouge, WAFB TV reported. Plant officials said they were still working to assess the cause of the incident, which began around 9:15 p.m. (0215 GMT), the CBS affiliate said.

Dow did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The Iberville Parish Council Office Of Emergency Preparedness issued a "shelter in place" for residents in a half-mile radius, officials said in a Facebook post, adding that Dow's air monitoring was not picking up any readings.

(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)

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