Kyocera Says Solar Cell Casting Furnace Exploded; No Injuries Reported

A Kyocera Corp. casting furnace exploded at a plant in central Japan, spokeswoman Chikako Morioka said. There were no reports of injuries.

The explosion, in a furnace used to produce solar cells, occurred at about 0:15 a.m. local time today, blowing off a door and tearing a hole in a ceiling at the plant in Shiga Yasu, Morioka said by telephone. The cause of the blast is under investigation, and the impact of the incident has yet to be determined, she said.

A fire was extinguished about one and half hours after the explosion, the Yomiuri newspaper reported earlier today on its website without saying where it got the information.

To contact the reporter on this story: Masumi Suga in Tokyo at msuga@bloomberg.net;