A storage tank blast killed seven people and injured 24 at a plant of Indian specialty chemicals maker Aether Industries in the western port city of Surat, police said on Thursday.

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The cause of the explosion early on Wednesday has yet to be determined, said city fire official Omprakash Mishra, although a fire it started had been put out.

"We have found seven dead bodies from the factory," J R Chaudhari, a police officer based near the site of the blast in Gujarat state, told Reuters, adding that authorities were now calling off a search for missing workers.

Twenty-four injured workers were being treated in hospital, Mishra added.

Shares of Aether Industries fell as much as 1.9% on Thursday, after news of the fire drove them down 8.4% the previous day.