Four men were injured during a series of explosions which happened Monday evening in a chemical factory belonging to French major chemical producer SNF in central France.

The first explosion happened at 5:45 p.m. local time in the chemical plant which is located in Andrezieux-Boutheon, a central town of Loire department, while the second occurred ten minutes later at the same workshop.

The injured suffering from burning and scratches were all sent to hospitals. There was no big fire triggered by the explosions, the firefighters said.

The government of Loire said that they had not detected any leak of dangerous chemical element caused by the explosion, confirming the environmental safety for nearby residents.

The plant with an area of over ten square kilometers is located 15 kilometers away from the nearest habitant community in Saint- Etienne, which has been partly evacuated after the accident, local media reported.

There are about 50 firefighters working on the site to determine the source of the blasts although primary investigation says chemical reaction during the experiments carried out in the workshop was the cause.

The France-based SNF company is a world leading producer of water treatment chemicals, with branches planted in American, European and Asian countries.

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