At least 13 people were injured Wednesday in a gas tank explosion at Nippon Steel Corp.'s Nagoya steelworks in Tokai, Aichi Prefecture.
The explosion occurred at about 7:40 p.m. Most of the injured were hit by flying pieces of tank debris, according to local police. The gas in the tank was used for fuel.
An ensuing blaze could not immediately be contained, with firefighters fearing that neighboring gas tanks might also catch fire. Nippon Steel officials said they issued an evacuation order for the entire plant, while police made an area within a 1-km radius of the plant off-limits.