The Izmir steel plant explosion killed at least 17 workers on Monday 9 November at the Habaş steelworks in Aliağa, near Izmir in western Turkey, and authorities have launched an investigation.
The blast occurred at 11:46am local time, triggering a fire and thick smoke above the industrial complex, according to Euronews.
BBC World reported that at least 17 people have died and 12 others have been injured, all of them workers at the Habas Demir Celik plant in Aliaga. Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said a critically injured person later died, raising the toll to 17. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had first said 16 people had died.
Izmir governor Süleyman Elban said, according to Euronews, that an overhead crane collapsed into an electric arc furnace during maintenance work, damaging a gas line and causing the explosion. The company that runs the factory said the accident occurred during scheduled maintenance work on one of the plant’s electric arc furnaces, according to BBC World.
The accounts of the cause differ. A worker told AFP, as reported by Euronews, that a snapped crane cable sent around 120 tonnes of molten steel onto the furnace. BBC World reported that a crane carrying a replacement boiler collapsed, dropping materials into a furnace.
Euronews reported that five people have been detained and four prosecutors have been assigned to investigate the disaster. Rescue teams are continuing to search the wreckage.
About 200 employees were in the affected area, according to Euronews. That number was lower than usual because production had been suspended for maintenance.
The Habas plant is in Aliağa, a major port and one of Turkey’s main shipbreaking hubs, according to BBC World. BBC World also reported that the Turkish Health and Safety Labor Watch, an independent civil society organisation, said workplace accidents remain a chronic problem in Turkey.
The core details in this report rely on Euronews and BBC World, and several points remain unresolved. The company’s statement gave no detail on what caused the accident, and no company explanation of the crane failure was reported. The worker quoted by Euronews is unnamed, and the 120-tonne figure comes from that worker alone. Neither outlet gave a confirmed count of people still missing, though Governor Elban said some were believed to be trapped. No response from the Habas company to the detentions or the probe was reported. Africanews was available only as a headline and short excerpt, so its details could not be checked against the other sources.
Search and rescue operations continue for people believed to be trapped. Four prosecutors are investigating the circumstances of the disaster, and the five detained people are being held.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.