Six people are killed in an explosion at a chemical factory in the Czech Republic

  • Six people have been killed in a blast at plant in the town of Kralupy nad Vltavou
  • Several others injured after a tank containing unspecified substance exploded
  • Officials say at least two are in hospital but that there is no danger to the town

An explosion at a chemical factory in the Czech Republic has killed six people, it has emerged.

Several others were also injured in the blast at 10am today at the Synthos plant in the town of Kralupy nad Vltavou, north of Prague.

The Prague-Vinohrady hospital has triggered its emergency plan and is getting ready to receive a 'significant number' of patients, authorities said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast.

'I can confirm that there has been an incident at our refinery in Kralupy nad Vltavou .... A crisis management meeting is under way,' fire service spokesman Pavel Kaidl said by telephone.

An explosion at a chemical factory in the Czech Republic has killed six people, it has emerged

An explosion at a chemical factory in the Czech Republic has killed six people, it has emerged

Several others were also injured in the blast at the Synthos plant in the town of Kralupy nad Vltavou, north of Prague

Several others were also injured in the blast at the Synthos plant in the town of Kralupy nad Vltavou, north of Prague

He had no other details on operations at the plant, whose refinery has annual capacity of 3.2 million tonnes of oil. 

The company operates another plant in Litvinov, in the north of the country.

Police said emergency services were responding to the explosion. A fire department spokesperson told Czech Television it was a blast at a storage tank and there was no risk of additional explosions.

The Prague-Vinohrady hospital has triggered its emergency plan and is getting ready to receive a 'significant number' of patients, authorities said

The Prague-Vinohrady hospital has triggered its emergency plan and is getting ready to receive a 'significant number' of patients, authorities said

Authorities say the factory belongs to the Polish firm Synthos, which manufactures synthetic rubber and polystyrene

Authorities say the factory belongs to the Polish firm Synthos, which manufactures synthetic rubber and polystyrene

Authorities say the factory belongs to the Polish firm Synthos, which manufactures synthetic rubber and polystyrene.

Two people were injured in an explosion at the same factory in 2015.

'We have launched an investigation to determine the circumstances and causes,' police spokeswoman Marketa Johnova said.