Türkiye: explosion at steel factory in Izmir leaves six dead and several injured

Six people were killed and around a dozen others injured Monday in the explosion at a steel factory near the port city of Izmir, in western Turkey, the local governor's office announced in a statement.

The governor's office initially reported three dead, 14 injured and 10 people trapped under the rubble, before issuing an update indicating that one of the injured had died, as well as two people freed from the rubble, bringing the death toll to six.

The collapse of a crane caused the explosion

The powerful explosion occurred around noon (9 a.m. GMT) at the Habas Demir Celik factory in Aliaga, about 60 kilometers north of Izmir, with authorities saying it sparked a fire at the site. The DHA news agency reported that initial indications were that the explosion appeared to have occurred following the collapse of a gantry crane in a large industrial furnace used in the process of casting liquid steel.

According to the mayor of Izmir, Cemil Tugay, the rescue teams “are continuing their work to free the platform (which has) collapsed” and the victims are factory workers. “Unfortunately, we have received preliminary information indicating a large number of deaths and injuries among people working at the factory. The exact number will be known once the rubble has been cleared,” he wrote in a message on X shortly before the death toll was revised to six deaths.