A number of John Deere employees were injured at the company's Tianjin, China, manufacturing plant after the massive chemical explosion tore through the Chinese port city this week.
Deere says that a small group of employees working at the time suffered minor injuries, but several others were injured in their homes when a hazardous chemical warehouse exploded.
Deere spokesman Ken Golden said there was no total count on how many Deere employees were injured, but some were in critical condition. The company has not been notified of any deaths of its employees, he said.
Across the blast area, the local government was reporting 700 injured, dozens missing and at least 50 dead, The Associated Press reported.
Deere employs 1,300 people at the manufacturing campus located in what is known as the Tianjin Economic Development Area, or TEDA. The facility, which includes a three-story engineering centre and single-story manufacturing buildings, manufactures construction and agriculture equipment as well as engines.
The explosion occurred in the middle of the night when few Deere employees were at work, "which is why we had employees injured at their homes," he said. Those Deere employees injured at the TEDA facility received minor injuries when the windows shattered.
The explosion also blew out doors at some of the Deere buildings, damaged ceilings and broke at least one water pipe, which caused water damage in the engine works facility.
According to The Associated Press, the Tianjin government has put the death toll to 50 after the huge, fiery blasts at a port warehouse for hazardous chemicals. The victims include 12 of the more than 1,000 firefighters who were sent to fight the blaze. The municipal government said 701 people were injured, including 71 in serious condition. It gave no figure for the missing.
Deere has halted operations temporarily in Tianjin. John Deere employees already in the area were asked to locate temporarily to Beijing because of concerns over air quality and the stress of local emergency medical services.
