A man was seriously injured in Yokohama Monday when an explosion set off a fire at an agricultural chemicals factory, police said.
The fire broke out at around 9 a.m. at a five-story factory run by SDS Biotech K.K. about 800 meters south of JR Shin-Koyasu Station. The factory was in operation at the time of the fire.
"I saw heaps of black smoke climbing into the sky," said a 76-year-old woman employed at a nearby building.
The fire had been extinguished by around noon and investigators were looking into the cause.