DAR ES SALAAM, May 23, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - An explosion at a sugar factory in Tanzania killed 11 people and injured two others, police said Thursday, with at least three foreigners among the dead.

The accident occurred after midnight Wednesday at a facility in the eastern Morogoro region operated by Mtibwa Sugar, one of Tanzania's main producers of the commodity.

"The factory accident caused death of 11 people and two others were injured," regional police commander Alex Mkama told reporters.

The fatalities included a Kenyan, an Indian and a Brazilian national, Mkama said, according to The Citizen newspaper.

"There are reports that a steam pipe had leakage which caused the explosion," he said, adding that investigations were underway.

Shabani Marugujo, commander of the fire and rescue services in Morogoro, said a pipe connecting one of the factory boilers with a turbine had burst causing the blast.

"The factory's control room and some other machines were damaged by the accident," he said.