Several injured, some missing after blasts at BASF German chemical plants

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Several people were injured and some were missing on Monday after blasts at two German chemicals plants owned by BASF which forced the world's biggest chemicals company to shut down some production facilities.

BASF said there was an explosion and a fire broke during work on pipelines in the north harbour area of its Ludwigshafen site, where it is headquartered, at around 1130 local time (0930 GMT).

Several people were injured and some are still missing, it said in a statement. It is investigating the cause of the explosion and is shutting down its two steam crackers, large facilities that make important basic chemical components, as well as some other units.

The city of Ludwigshafen advised residents in the surrounding area to avoid going outside and to keep their windows and doors shut.

The Ludwigshafen site, around 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Frankfurt, is the world's largest chemical complex, covering an area of 10 square kilometres (4 square miles) and employing 39,000 workers, according to BASF.

Images published by local media showed flames and a plume of thick black smoke at the site's harbour, a terminal for combustible fluids such as naphtha and methanol that are important for BASF's supply of raw materials.

Separately, four people were injured in an earlier gas explosion at BASF's Lampertheim facility.

BASF said it was also still investigating the cause of that explosion, which occurred at 0830 local time. It has switched off the Lampertheim facility, which makes additives for plastics.

(Reporting by Jans Hack and Maria Sheahan; Editing by Tina Bellon/Ruth Pitchford)