Turkiye steel factory blast kills 16, probe launched

An explosion at a steel factory in western Turkey killed 16 people and injured 13 on Monday, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The HABAS steel factory, located about 60 kilometers north of the port city of Izmir, was the site of the blast. Eight workers were trapped at the facility, where the accident occurred around midday local time.

Footage showed a thick cloud of smoke and flames emanating from the plant. President Erdogan stated that investigations into the tragedy would uncover the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the cause, any negligence, and responsibility. Izmir's governor, Suleyman Elban, revealed that the blast was caused by an overhead crane falling into a large industrial furnace during a boiler replacement operation.

Workers described the explosion as sounding like an "earthquake" and felt the impact from across the street. The factory's owner, HABAS, declined to comment on the incident. Workers' groups have raised concerns about safety issues at the plant, with HABAS having a history of worker fatalities over the past decade. The leftist Aegean Workers' Collective arrested two representatives outside the hospital where the injured were treated, demanding accountability for the disaster and transparency regarding its causes.