A powerful explosion rocked a chemical plant in northern Germany on Tuesday, injuring several people and damaging nearby houses, police said.

The explosion struck at about  9pm local time in Ritterhude, a city with 15,000 inhabitants near Bremen in northwestern Germany.

The blast was heard many kilometres away and sparked a huge fire. Witnesses reported flames nearly 50 metres high and thick fumes billowing at the site.

One man was reported with third-degree burns and others were slightly injured.

Up to 40 nearby houses were damaged as the explosion shatered windows, ripped doors from their frames and tore off roofs, police said.

According to AP’s coverage of the news the plant is owned by Organo Fluid, a company specialized in recovering valuable solvents from mixtures of solvents.

It took firefighters several hours to put the blaze under control. The cause of the blast is still unknown.

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