In Pictures: Illinois chemical plant explosion

An explosion at a northern Illinois chemical plant Monday morning sparked enormous fires that sent flames and huge plumes of thick black smoke high into the air and debris raining onto the ground, prompting evacuations and fires that could burn for days. On 7am local time (12:00 GMT), Monday emergency crews rushed to the scene of the fire near Rockton, northwest of Chicago, at Chemtool Inc., a company that manufactures lubricants, grease products and other fluids, and is, according to the company, the largest manufacturer of grease in the Americas. Rockton Fire Department Chief Kirk Wilson and an official from Chemtool’s parent company, Lubrizol Corp said about 70 employees were evacuated safely from the plant, and two firefighters had suffered minor injuries.