11 workers hurt in factory blast in East London

Eleven factory workers were rushed to a Beacon Bay hospital after they were injured in a blast at a factory manufacturing car parts at the East London IDZ last night.

East London police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala confirmed that the eight men and three women sustained injuries in the blast caused by a chemical reaction. Mqala said the factory was closed and firefighters were summoned to extinguish the blaze last night.

Telfex Automative factory is one of the largest suppliers of car parts to major companies in the automative industry. Mqala said, "an enquiry has been opened to investigate the cause of the fire. No foul play is suspected at the moment".

IDZ spokeswoman Ayanda Ramncwana confirmed the incident. Last night in a statement she said: "This serves to confirm that there was an incident within one of our enterprises in the zone. At this point we have not yet ascertained the cause or the extent of the damage."

Ramncwana said a full statement about the incident would be released today.