A steelworker died and 13 others were injured after an explosion and fire at a steel plant in Port Talbot, south Wales last night.
Five of the injured were in a critical condition at Morriston Hospital in Swansea. The Corus steel company said a "serious escape" of molten iron occurred at number five blast furnace on the site shortly after 5 p.m.
About 3,000 employees work at the steel works, which produces about three million tonnes of steel a year for the motor and other industries.
Following the explosion, a Corus spokesman said: "We have deployed the full resources of our emergency planning procedures and the furnace area is now stable."
Local Councillor Clive Owen said furnace five had been due to be relined in 2004 and contractors had been working on it as an interim measure.
"They were going to be relining it in a couple of years and I think they were patching it up," he said.
"I heard about three explosions. I ran out to the garden to see what it was and I could see a lot of smoke. Then the fire engines and ambulances started coming in," said Cllr Owen.
Europe Minister Peter Hain, who represents the neighbouring constituency, described the incident as "catastrophic".