Chemical Factory Blast Kills 18, Hurts Hundreds

An explosion--apparently an accident--ripped through a petrochemical plant in the southern city of Toulouse, killing 18 people and injuring 200, with 15 missing.

A spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Paris ruled out a criminal attack, saying the blast was due to an “incident in the handling of products.” Other officials said the exact cause was not clear.

The explosion leveled buildings and shattered windows miles away, collapsed dozens of roofs and left a brown haze hanging over the city, which is home to nearly a million people and the country’s aeronautics industry. Much of the plant was in ruins. The blast left behind a 50-yard-wide crater.