An explosion at a Shell-owned chemical plant in the Netherlands on Tuesday morning left two people injured.

Firefighters are understood to have extinguished the blaze that broke out following the blast at the site in Moerdijk at 11pm local time.

Two workers were slightly injured and have received treatment for burns.

A statement from the Anglo-Dutch supermajor said: “On-site tests indicated that no harmful concentrations of emissions were released into the air. The mayor of Moerdijk also confirmed that no harmful concentrations of emissions were detected in the air outside the perimeter of the installation.

“Shell Moerdijk’s fire brigade is working closely with local emergency services.”

Shell continued: “We do not have any details as to the cause of the incident at this point in time. An investigation into the cause has started.

“The incident occurred in the reactor of the MSPO-2 installation. The installation was shut for maintenance as the fire broke out. The plant produces styrene monomer and propylene oxides which are raw materials used to make plastics.”