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SOREL-TRACEY — Five people were taken to hospital Thursday morning after an explosion at the Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium plant in Sorel-Tracy.

Company spokeswoman Claudine Gagnon says the workers were being treated for shock.

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There was no immediate word on the cause of the explosion, which happened at about 4:30 a.m. at the metallurgical complex northeast of Montreal.

Gagnon says all operations at the site have been suspended.

Rio Tinto is one of the world’s leading metals and mining firms with about 50,000 workers in 35 countries.

The Quebec operation manufactures raw materials for the titanium dioxide markets and produces high purity metal powders and pig iron.

Last year, the company announced it would spend $16 million to retrofit one of the furnaces at the metallurgical complex.