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More Than 50 Injured in Japan Warehouse Explosion
An explosion at a gunpowder warehouse in central Japan injured more than 50 local residents and damaged around 160 homes, officials said on Wednesday.
Police said they were investigating the cause of the explosion, which took place on Tuesday night at a factory owned by NOF Corp , a Tokyo-based comprehensive chemical maker.
Residents near the factory, in the rural town of Taketoyo in Aichi prefecture about 250km (155 miles) west of Tokyo, said they felt the ground shake after the blast.
A local fire department official said the explosion took place at around 10:10 p.m. and 56 cases of injuries had been reported so far, although none were serious.
Most of the injuries were caused by glass shattered by the force of the explosion, he said.
A NOF spokesman said the plant, which produces rocket fuel, dynamite and gunpowder and employs 420 people, had been closed on Tuesday.
He said NOF would not resume operations at the plant until police had determined the cause of the blast.
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