Istanbul, Nov 9: A huge explosion and fire at an iron and steelworks in western Turkiye left three people dead Monday as rescuers searched for 10 missing workers, officials said.
The fire at the HABAS plant in Aliaga, Izmir province, also injured 14 people, three of them critically, the provincial governor’s office said in a statement. Search and rescue efforts were underway to reach the 10 people trapped under the rubble, it added.
Broadcaster NTV showed images of a large fire inside the facility and a tall column of smoke rising.
“The ground shook. It was very intense,” witness Nuri Ali Ulker was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu news agency.
Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said emergency teams fought the blaze while searching for casualties. “Our injured compatriots have been taken to hospitals and their health is being closely monitored,” he posted on social media.
The governor’s office said the explosion happened around noon when an overhead crane toppled into a furnace during the casting of liquid steel. It added that an investigation had been launched.
Aliaga has a large port and is known for shipbreaking, which critics say has caused significant environmental damage and has led to calls to remove its shipbreaking yard from the European Union’s list of ship recycling facilities.
The disaster came as world leaders and environmental activists gathered in Antalya, on Turkiye’s Mediterranean coast, for talks on curbing climate change.
The HABAS plant was established in 1987 and can produce 4.5 million tons of steel annually, according to the company’s website. (AP)
