Dozens injured in U.S. sugar refinery blast

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Dozens of people were injured, some ofthem seriously, in an explosion at a sugar refinery in the U.S.state of Georgia on Thursday night, local authorities said,adding that no fatalities had been reported yet.

Six people were unaccounted for and firefighters wereattempting to put out the blaze apparently started by a blastin a bagging room at the Imperial Sugar company plant in PortWentworth, a suburb of Savannah, said police Sgt. Mike Wilson.

Around 38 people were taken to hospital but the number ofpeople with minor injuries was higher, he said, adding that thecause of the early evening blast was not known.

"We are still in a search and rescue operation. This isstill a fluid and active scene. We still have firefightersactively fighting the blaze at this point," Wilson said ataround midnight local time (5 a.m. British time).

Coast Guard vessels equipped with water pumps were alsohelping the effort, hours after fire erupted at the plant alongthe banks of the Savannah River. "Portions of it (the plant)have collapsed," he said.

Jay David Goldstein, chief of emergency medicine atMemorial University Medical Centre in Savannah, described theincident as: "serious, pretty significant" and said many of theplant workers injured were in critical condition.

The injuries included "significant body burns, and you alsohave to worry about blast effect from the explosion, whichmight throw them 20 feet (6 metres), and then you have head orbone injuries," he said.

A Memorial hospital statement said 32 patients were takento Memorial and five patients were also brought to St Joseph'sCandler hospital in Savannah, Candler spokeswoman Betsy Yatessaid.

The explosion happened at around 7:20 p.m./12:20 a.m.British time and emergency responders headed to the scene fromthroughout the area, the Savannah Morning News newspaper said.Doctors also flew in from Augusta, Georgia, to provideassistance.

Imperial Sugar is the largest processor and refiner ofsugar in the United States and is based in Texas. It includesthe Imperial Sugar brand in that state and the Dixie Crystalsbrand in the south east, according to a company Web site.

(Additional reporting by Tom Brown in Miami)

(Editing by Sandra Maler)