6 dead, 2 hurt in Czech chemical factory explosion

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — An explosion rocked a chemical factory Thursday in the Czech Republic, killing six people and injuring two others, officials said.

Unipetrol, a Czech oil processor and plastics producer, said the blast took place inside one of the storage tank for fuels and additives in its refinery in the town of Kralupy nad Vltavou, 10 miles (16 kilometres) north of the capital Prague.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blast.

A Kralupy town crisis manager, Lukas Hodik, said the explosion seemed to occur when workers were cleaning an empty tank.