Toulouse factory blast cuts city off from rest of France as death toll rises

The south-western French city of Toulouse was cut off from the rest of the country yesterday after an explosion with the force of an earthquake killed at least 18 people and injured 653 others in a chemical plant. Fifty of the injured are in serious condition.

The explosion occurred in the AZF factory, in the southern suburb of Toulouse. AZF is a subsidiary of TotalFinaElf, the main French oil company, and was the biggest producer of chemical fertiliser in France. The blast destroyed the plant's two chimneys and flattened its warehouses. Buildings were damaged hundreds of metres away and the shock wave was felt 80 km around. Window panes broke throughout the city, balconies and concrete wells collapsed and the streets were strewn with orange-coloured rubble. Seismologists as far away as Normandy registered tremors of 3.4 on the Richter scale.

The explosion created panic, with many residents assuming it was the result of a deliberate attack similar to those in the US last week. The ministry of the interior said it was accidental, but the Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, visiting the site, said he was not sure. "We cannot at this moment establish the causes - whether it was an accident or something else." Toulouse is in Mr Jospin's home constituency.

All flights and trains to Toulouse were cancelled or rerouted. The city's subway shut down and motorists were advised to avoid the city. Telephone lines were either cut by the blast or saturated.

President Chirac and the ministers of the interior, environment and health also rushed to the site of the disaster. Mr Chirac,who made a detour on his way to the EU summit in Brussels, was accompanied by a political ally, Mr Philippe Douste-Blazy, Mayor of Toulouse. "We feel for all of the victims," Mr Douste-Blazy said. Alluding to speculation that the plant might have been bombed, he added: "Fear is setting in; we hope that the unnameable does not exist."

Ms Dominique Vanesse, a spokeswoman for AZF, said the company believed the explosion occurred in the nitrate-producing area of the plant, which employs 450 people. Between 200 and 300 workers are believed to have been present at the time of the blast. The explosion could have been caused by a worker mishandling chemical products.

Mr Jean-Marc Delhomme, whose ambulance company headquarters is l,800 metres from the former AZF plant, said there were two explosions, "first a small one, then a second, enormous one." A huge orange mushroom cloud rose into the air. Firemen said it was not toxic, but the prefect of Toulouse told residents to stay indoors and avoid drinking tap water.

"For the time being, we know of no pollution beyond the site," the Environment Minister, Mr Yves Cochet, said. "We have no information regarding the toxicity of the cloud, but it is better to be careful." Toulouse is also home to Airbus Industrie. There are three high risk plants in the zone, including an ammunition factoryand and an explosives plant that makes fuel for the European space rocket Ariane. Ecologists had warned that the AZF plant was dangerous since an ammonia leak in 1998.