Kyodo reported that a fire broke out Friday at a coastal plant of JFE Steel Corp in Chiba Prefecture after coke apparently burned abnormally in a furnace.

No one was injured but one employee in his 30s at the plant, located in Chuo Ward in the city of Chiba, was taken to a hospital after experiencing dizziness.

The plant experienced an unexpected blackout at around 10:10 AM, which caused a dust chamber at one of the plant's furnaces to stop.

When workers tried to prevent gas from coke that was burning abnormally from leaking outside, a fire broke out at around 10:30 AM, sending up a plume of thick black smoke, they said.

Chiba firefighters did not conduct any extinguishing operations and the plant's electricity was switched back on at around 10:50 AM.

(Sourced from Kyodo News)