Explosions have been reported at two chemical plants in Germany owned by BASF. Several people are said to have been injured and some are missing.

One of the blasts happened at Ludwigshafen about 80 kilometres south of Frankfurt, the company’s headquarters and the world’s largest chemical complex.

Separately, an earlier explosion at Lampertheim injured four people. The first blast happened at about 8.30 local time.

Some three hours later came the second explosion at Ludwigshafen, followed by a fire which broke out during work on pipelines. BASF said in a statement that several people were injured and some were still missing.

The nearby town has advised people in the surrounding area to avoid going outside and to keep windows and doors shut.

The company is investigating the cause of both explosions.