Briefly:Explosion kills factory worker

OBU, Aichi Prefecture--A factory worker died Wednesday after an explosion at a Toyota Industries Corp. plant here, police said.

Koshiro Takagi, 24, died from burns after the explosion at around 5:10 a.m. at the Obu Plant, which produces car air-conditioner compressor units for Toyota Motor Corp. and other firms.

According to the Tokai Police Station, Takagi began his overnight shift at 9 p.m. Tuesday. He was checking for defects in aluminum pistons by immersing them in a chemical solution in a stainless-steel tank kept at 530 degrees.

When Takagi added what appears to have been sodium chloride to the immersion tank, it emitted white smoke and exploded. The tests had been conducted every hour since 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Takagi's shift was to end at 5:50 a.m. Wednesday.(IHT/Asahi: May 8,2008)