Video - Explosions and fire at Moerdijk Dutch Shell plant.

Video - Explosions and fire at Moerdijk Dutch Shell plant.HT: Liveleak.

Fire crews are tackling a blaze at a Shell chemical plant in the Netherlands following a series of explosions. Television footage showed flames and smoke pouring from the plant in Moerdijk, south of Rotterdam.

Two people have been hospitalised, but the cause of the blasts - heard from more than 30km (20 miles) away - remains unknown.*

The company says its priority is to make sure people nearby are safe and to minimise the environmental impact. A spokesman for Shell told the BBC that the factory was in operation 24 hours a day but that all personnel who were on site at the time had been accounted for.

More information from Shell "At the Shell Moerdijk Chemical plant in the evening of June 3 explosion occurred in a reactor of the MSPO-2 installation. As a result of this is a fire hazard which is now under control.

Apparently Major Maintenance works were being carried out at the site.

* From Shell website: [GoogleTranslate] In the coming weeks we are busy with maintenance on two of our plants. Expected to have the work completed in mid-June. The work is limited and we do not expect anything near these operations will notice.