Businessupdated 1h ago2 min read
MapExplosion at Habas Demir Çelik Steel Plant in Aliaga Kills 10, Injures More Than Dozen
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Explosion at Habas plant in Aliaga near Izmir kills workers. Casualties reported as six to sixteen dead across outlets.
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Blast at Habas plant
An explosion ripped through an iron and steel factory at the Habas Demir Çelik plant in Aliaga, about 60 kilometres north of Izmir, and authorities said it killed 10 people and injured more than a dozen on Monday. Izmir Governor Suleyman Elban’s office initially spoke of 10 trapped and six dead, and rescue efforts to find more people trapped under the rubble continued with no update on how many were still missing. A News | Other reported an update from Elban that 16 workers died in the blast and scores of others were injured, citing Anadolu.
ABC News said Turkish officials put the blast at the HABAS plant in Aliaga, Izmir province, and described rescuers searching for four missing workers after the explosion and fire left at least 10 people dead. The governor’s office said the blast happened around noon, when an overhead crane toppled into a furnace during the casting of liquid steel, according to ABC News.
Conflicting death tolls
Izmir Governor Suleyman Elban’s office later updated the toll in a way that produced different figures across reports, with one account saying 16 workers died and another saying 10 workers died. Sky News said Turkey’s president confirmed the number of people killed as 16 on Monday afternoon, while WTOP News, citing officials, described a toll of 10 dead and four missing. Turan Ilbay, a truck driver at the factory, told Anadolu that it was "It was like a bomb going off," and Deniz Ülker said the blast "felt like the earth's crust was shifting beneath us."
Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said emergency teams fought the blaze while searching for casualties, and he posted that "Our injured compatriots have been taken to hospitals" and their health was being monitored. The Korea Times said the governor’s office initially gave a toll of three dead, 14 injured and 10 trapped under the rubble, before updating it to six after one injured died and two people were pulled from the rubble.
Investigation and accountability
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said those found to have been negligent or responsible for the explosion would be held accountable, after the death toll rose to 16 in one update. The governor’s office said an investigation was under way, and Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said four public prosecutors had been assigned to the case, according to ABC News. Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay said rescue teams were "continuing their work to remove the collapsed platform" and that the exact number of casualties would only be known once the debris was cleared.
ANF said preliminary results indicated the blast occurred after a crane collapsed into a large industrial furnace used for melting and pouring molten steel, while other reports continued to describe rescue efforts for people believed to be trapped under the rubble. France 24 reported that the explosion at the Habas iron and steel manufacturing plant in Aliaga injured 14, with three of them in a serious condition, as search and rescue efforts continued.