A paper mill exploded in the little town of Jay, Maine, on Wednesday, sending torrents of ash and debris into the sky and onto the streets.

Miraculously, no one was hurt.

The blast at the Androscoggin Mill “digester” — where wood chips, water and chemicals are mixed to make paper — occurred at around noon, police said.

Pixelle Specialty Solutions, owner of the facility, said that although no employees suffered injuries, some experienced respiratory distress.

“It’s nothing short of a miracle, and we are grateful,” Mill spokesperson Roxie Lassetter said.

State Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said, “We’re hearing from the mill that all employees and contractors are accounted for.”

The Office of the State Fire Marshal, as well as numerous local fire departments, responded to the scene. The cause of the blast was not immediately known.

McCausland said that a chemical element was involved either during the explosion or in its aftermath.

Employees were inside the mill when the blast occurred, but there were fewer than usual due to coronavirus restrictions.

Jay resident Rebecca Burhoe said she was driving home on Route 140 across from the mill when she heard the explosion.

“Out of the corner of my eye, I just saw this big, huge plume of smoke,” Burhoe said, adding that her husband, a truck driver, had been on his way to the mill with a load of wood when the explosion happened.

Video posted to social media shows the moments following the initial blast, with enormous plumes of black smoke filling the sky.

“F–king mill just blew up! Holy f–k,” a man can be heard saying in the clip.

The mill, which employs about 500 people, was sold in February by the Ohio-based Verso Corp. to Pixelle, a paper manufacturer based in Pennsylvania.

Gov. Janet Mills issued a statement saying: “I urge Maine people to stay far away from the scene, to stay safe and to allow first responders to work as quickly as they can.”

She added, “I ask the people of Maine to join me in praying for the safety and well-being of all those in and around this historic mill.

“In this already difficult moment, let us summon the strength and resilience which has defined us as Maine people throughout our history and which has sustained us and carried us through our most challenging times.”

The state has more than 700 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 20 deaths as a result of the contagion.