ATHENS, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A fire broke out after an explosion at a biscuit factory near the central Greek city of Trikala on Monday, killing four people and leaving one missing, the fire brigade said.
A total of 53 firefighters assisted by 16 trucks and 10 more vehicles tackled the blaze that engulfed factory facilities.
Its owner, Violanta S.A., said the cause was unclear, according to a statement cited by the Athens News Agency.
Eight of 13 people at the factory had managed to escape, fire officials told Reuters. Four bodies were recovered, the fire brigade said adding that investigators and disaster response units were at the scene.
Greece's largest labour union GSEE said the four victims were women and demanded a thorough investigation of the incident.
The strong blast in the early morning hours was most probably due to a gas leak according to initial evidence collected by experts. Their probe, supervised by a prosecutor, is expected to conclude in the coming days.
Six people including a firefighter were treated at a local hospital, mainly for respiratory problems, but their lives were not at risk, the Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis told ERTnews radio earlier.
"We express our deep sorrow and shock at the tragic event that occurred at our factory in Trikala. Our only concern is to stand with respect and support next to the families of the people we lost," Violanta said in a second statement cited by the Athens News Agency.
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou and Renee Maltezou; Additional reporting by Yannis Souliotis; Writing by Antonis Pothitos; Editing by Alexandra Hudson, Andrew Cawthorne and Diane Craft)
