Crane Falls Into Furnace at Turkish Steel Plant, Killing at Least 16

An explosion at a steel plant near the Turkish port city of Izmir killed at least 16 workers on Monday and injured a dozen or more, according to the BBC and Al Jazeera. The BBC later reported the toll had risen to 17 after a critically injured worker died, while search and rescue operations continued.

Authorities said everyone killed or hurt worked at the Habas Demir Celik plant in the Aliaga district, one of Turkey’s leading steel producers. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced an investigation.

What happened at the Aliaga plant

Al Jazeera reported that the blast occurred at 11:46am local time (08:46 GMT) at the Habas factory in Aliaga, about 60km (37 miles) north of Izmir on the Aegean coast. Footage from the scene, the BBC said, showed a large fire inside the facility and a column of smoke rising high into the air.

Izmir’s governor, Suleyman Elban, said the explosion followed the collapse of a crane that was carrying a replacement boiler, causing material to fall into a furnace below. The company that runs the plant said the accident took place during scheduled maintenance on one of its electric arc furnaces.

An eyewitness, Deniz Ulker, told Al Jazeera that thick black smoke poured from the factory across from where he stood and that a fire broke out near the chimney. Other witnesses told the BBC the blast shook the ground, and one person at first thought an earthquake had struck.

Casualty figures differ

Reports differ on the exact toll. Erdogan first put the number of dead at 16, and the Health Minister later said a critically injured person had died, bringing the total to 17, the BBC reported. Al Jazeera said at least 16 people had died and 13 were injured, and that two of the wounded were in serious condition. The BBC counted 12 injured.

The number may still change. Elban said some people were believed to be under the rubble, and Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay said the full count of dead and injured would be clear only once the debris had been cleared.

Arrests and investigation

Speaking after a cabinet meeting on Monday, Erdogan confirmed the deaths and said investigations were under way. The BBC’s Turkish service, citing local media reports, said at least five people had been arrested.

Why it matters: a worrying safety record

Workplace accidents remain a chronic problem in Turkey, according to the Turkish Health and Safety Labor Watch, an independent civil society organization cited by the BBC.

Al Jazeera reported that workers’ groups describe a long record of safety problems at this particular factory. The Izmir branch of the Labour Party, a small Marxist group, called the blast the third fatal incident at the plant in three weeks. In a post on X, the party said seven employees had died in accidents there over the past 10 years and argued that maintenance requirements and safety standards were not being met. Those claims come from the party and were not independently confirmed in the reports.

For workers in heavy industry and their families, the case raises questions about maintenance work on large furnaces, which the company said was under way when the accident occurred. The cause will be examined in the investigation Erdogan announced.

What comes next

Search and rescue work was continuing at the site on Monday, and the investigation into the cause is under way. Condolences came from abroad, including from the European Union and Azerbaijan, Al Jazeera reported.

Read next
Fairy Chimney Collapse Kills at Least 2 at Popular Cappadocia Tourist Site
Drones Spark Fires in Russia's Ryazan, Where a Major Oil Refinery Reportedly Burns
Russian Drone Strike on Dnipro Train Station Kills 13, Ukrainian Officials Say

Around Prague, based on reporting by BBC News, Al Jazeera