At least one person was killed, six hurt and another six missing after blasts at two German chemical plants owned by BASF, forcing the world's biggest chemicals company to shut down some production facilities. BASF said an explosion and fire occurred yesterday during work on pipelines in the north harbour area of its Ludwigshafen site (photo), south of Frankfurt, a terminal for combustible fluids such as naphtha and methanol. The city of Ludwigshafen advised residents in the surrounding area to avoid going outside and to keep their windows and doors shut. The Ludwigshafen site is the world's largest chemical complex, covering an area of 10 sq km and employing 39,000 workers, according to BASF. Separately, four people were injured earlier on the same day in a gas explosion at BASF's Lampertheim facility, which makes additives for plastics.