Blast at Serb explosives plant kills four

BELGRADE (Reuters) – At least four people died in an
explosion at a chemicals and explosives plant 25 kilometers (16
miles) west of the Serbian capital Belgrade on Monday, police
said.

Reports quoted Interior Minister Dragan Jocic as saying
four people had died and another three were injured in the
blast at the Prva Iskra factory in Baric.

A police spokeswoman said the blast occurred in the
explosives section of the factory. “It was explosives, not
chemicals. A fire has broken out and access is difficult,” she
said.

The chemicals complex, censored repeatedly for emissions
damaging to the surrounding environment, lies on the bank of
the Sava River, which flows into the Danube at Belgrade.

A Reuters television crew said police were keeping
reporters back from the location. Ambulances and fire services
were on the scene. A school in Baric was closed and the pupils
sent home.

Belgrade’s SRadio B92 reported that emergency crews had yet
to enter the factory for fear of more explosions.