Explosion at UK chemical plant, no injuries reported

LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) British firefighters battled a large blaze early today after an explosion at a chemical plant in northern England.

A spokeswoman for Cleveland Fire Brigade said there were no immediate reports of injuries in the explosion at the Billingham plant of Imperial Chemical Industries Plc.

Details of damage were not immediately available, but she described it as a large fire. At least 11 fire trucks, two emergency rescue teams and an environmental unit were dispatched to the scene after the incident was reported at 0011 GMT.

''We are attending an incident at the moment,'' she said. ''We haven't had any reports of injuries.'' A police spokeswoman confirmed there had been ''some form of big explosion'' but gave no further details.

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