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A SECOND man has died from his injuries following the explosion of a cyclododecatriene (CDT) tank at Evonik’s facility at the Chemiepark Marl in western Germany.

The man, who has not been named, had been airlifted by helicopter to a specialist burns unit following the explosion, which happened at around 13:40 local time on 31 March and was not put out fully until 04:47 on 1 April.

The body of another worker, who died in the fire, could not be recovered for several hours while around 130 firefighters tackled the blaze, which according to local reports, sent flames shooting 100 m into the sky. Both victims were from Hertel, a nearby town. Local residents were advised to stay indoors as a large cloud of black smoke drifted across the area. The exact composition of the smoke cloud is not known, but Infracor Chemistry Services, which operates the Chemiepark Marl, says that samples taken by both it and the state environmental agency have shown that it was not dangerous, and levels of butadiene, a chemical known to be carcinogenic, stayed well below legally permitted limits at all times.

Klaus Engel, chairman of Evonik, said that the company had been deeply affected by the incident and added that the families of the victims would be supported through the “difficult situation”.

A spokesman for Infracor told tce that there was as yet no information on the cause of the blast but that officials of the State Office of Criminal Investigation and fire experts were at work on site. Their initial findings are expected in a few days time.

Cyclododecatriene is used in the production of polyamide plastics and flame retardants.