Explosion rips roof off pharmaceutical plant; worker missing

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. (AP) — Officials say an explosion at a pharmaceutical plant in Massachusetts left one worker missing and sent four people to the hospital as a precaution. The explosion happened around 1 a.m. Thursday at the Sequens/PCI Synthesis plant in Newburyport. Video footage showed most of the roof torn off the building. A fire official says the blast blew an industrial-sized vat 30 feet into a parking lot. The company says the four workers were not injured and were released from the hospital. It isn’t yet known what caused the explosion. In 2020, authorities said a chemical reaction caused a series of explosions at the plant.