In Turkey, a powerful explosion occurred at the HABAŞ metallurgical plant, killing 17 people. Another 13 workers were injured, two of them in serious condition, Reuters reports. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The tragedy occurred on November 9 around noon in the Aliaga district of Izmir province in western Turkey. A fire broke out at the enterprise after the explosion. Rescuers, firefighters, medics and police arrived at the scene.
According to preliminary data from local authorities, the accident occurred during repair work. An overhead crane collapsed, its structures fell into an electric arc furnace and damaged a gas pipeline. This led to a powerful explosion and subsequent fire.
Izmir Governor Suleyman Elban said that at the time of the incident, production had been halted for technical work. About 200 people were on the plant's territory, although the enterprise normally employs more than 300 workers.
As a result of the explosion, part of the plant's structures collapsed. Rescuers cleared the rubble and searched for people. The fire was extinguished, and the injured were taken to hospitals.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the death of 16 people and announced the start of a judicial and administrative investigation.
"The causes and circumstances of this tragedy, which deeply saddened our people, as well as possible cases of negligence and those responsible will be established," Erdogan said.
According to Turkish media, five people were detained as part of the investigation. Law enforcement agencies will have to establish the causes of the accident and determine whether industrial safety requirements were violated.
HABAŞ is one of the major steel producers in Turkey. The enterprise is located in the industrial district of Aliaga in Izmir province. The company's production capacity is about 4.5 million tons of steel per year.