Sawt Falasteen - Huge explosions rock industrial area near Argentina's capital

Thick billows of black smoke rose hundreds of meters into the night sky, illuminated orange from the massive blaze, observed AFP reporters near the site, which is close to the country's busiest international airport just outside Buenos Aires.

"The explosions and fire breaking out in the different factories are huge," said Gaston Granados, mayor of Ezeiza, the area where the site is located.

"We are trying to control (the fire) and extinguish it but have not been able to so far," he said on C5N television, adding that the windows of his own nearby house had been shattered and that they were evacuating families from the area.

Hospital director Carlos Santoro said his facility had received 22 injured patients.

A patient with a heart attack and a pregnant woman suffering from respiratory issues were among those admitted, he added.

Firefighters were still battling to put out the fire early on Saturday, local media reported, after authorities earlier warned it would be challenging to bring the blaze under control.

"It is a complex fire. It will be a long fire," said Fabian Garcia, the civil defense director for Buenos Aires province.

Several companies manufacturing tires, chemical products and other goods were located in the industrial area. Local media reported five different factories were hit by the explosions and blaze, and AFP reporters saw that at least one factory building had been reduced to ashes.

W.Mansour--SF-PST