At least 15 people are thought to have died after a chemical explosion at a paper factory in northern India.
At least 50 people were injured in the blast and fire at the factory in Udham Singh Nagar in Uttaranchal state, according to local police. They were taken to local hospitals, he said.
State government spokesman Amit Chandola said 15 people had died.
The town is about 245 miles northwest of the region's largest city, Lucknow, capital of the neighboring Uttar Pradesh state.
Police believe the fire was caused by an explosion in a tank of sodium.
Local lawmaker Harbhajan Singh Cheema said the explosion was heard miles away.
Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari, the state's top elected official, had ordered an inquiry into the blast, the government statement said.
Hundreds of people die each year in India in industrial accidents. Health, safety and pollution control measures are lax at most small-scale industrial units, and government inspectors often are bribed to prevent penalties.
AP