Seven people were injured yesterday evening following a blast and a fire that produced thick clouds of black smoke at a plant for the disposal of toxic waste near Milan, Italy’s Ansa news agency reported.

Six of the injured were in a serious condition, including one with second and third degree burns over half his body, Ansa said, citing the hospital.

“I saw my colleagues being taken away in an ambulance. They were completely burnt. It was a disaster,” a company employee was quoted as saying.

A woman living nearby said: “I heard a powerful explosion that made the walls shake. Then there were other smaller explosions.”

The fire at the Eureco Holding plant in the town of Paderno Dugnano, some 20 kilometres north of Milan, was put out later yesterday by 13 teams of firefighters working at the scene alongside police.

There was no mention in the report on any pollution from the incident.