PRAGUE - At least one person was killed and two others were presumed missing after a gunpowder blast rocked a Czech ammunition plant on Monday, the local fire brigade said.

The blast occurred shortly after 12:00 pm (1000 GMT) in a storage area of the Sellier & Bellot plant in the central town of Vlasim, fire brigade spokesman Ladislav Holomcik told AFP. He said that it appeared two people were missing, but that an explosives expert would have to check the site before rescuers could search the scene.