Turkey steel plant explosion kills 16 in nation’s west with fears toll will rise
Officials say 16 people have died and 10 are still missing following an explosion caused by a crane toppling into a steel furnace.
A blast at a steel and iron manufacturing plant in western Turkey has killed 16 people, President Tayyip Erdogan says after a cabinet meeting.
An explosion took place about midday at the Habas iron and steel manufacturing plant in the Aliaga district of the coastal Izmir province, the governor’s office said in a statement
According to initial findings, the incident occurred when a ceiling crane snapped and fell into an arc furnace during the liquid steel casting process
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“The ground shook. It was very intense,” witness Nuri Ali Ulker was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu news agency.
Another witness, Deniz Ulker, told Anadolu the explosion “felt like the earth’s crust was shifting beneath us. I thought it was an earthquake”.
Those injured were referred to various hospitals in the region for treatment, and three of the 14 injured were in a serious condition, according to the statement
Search and rescue operations were ongoing to reach the 10 people still trapped under the rubble after the blast.
