'Felt like an earthquake': Six dead in blast at steel factory near Turkey's Izmir: officials

An explosion at an iron and steel factory near Turkey's western city of Izmir on Monday claimed six lives and injured around a dozen others, according to the local governor's office. Initially, the toll was reported as three dead, 14 injured and 10 trapped under the rubble, but this was later revised to six fatalities after one injured individual succumbed to their injuries and two others were pulled from the debris.

Thick smoke rose into the sky as flames engulfed a tall structure within the Habas Demir Celik plant, located about 60 kilometers north of Izmir. Eyewitness Deniz Ulker described the event as feeling like an earthquake, with the ground shifting beneath them and thick black smoke billowing from the factory. Turan Ilbay, a truck driver at the factory, corroborated this, stating that the explosion sounded like a bomb going off.

Initial investigations suggest that the blast occurred when an overhead crane collapsed onto a large industrial furnace used in the liquid steel casting process. Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay confirmed that rescue teams were working to extract the trapped individuals, emphasizing that those affected were primarily factory workers. The exact death toll will be determined once the wreckage has been cleared, according to Tugay.