Blast at steel plant kills 16 in Turkey

A blast at a steel and iron plant in western Turkey killed 16 people on Nov. 9, with search and rescue operations still ongoing to reach 10 people still trapped under the rubble, President Tayyip Erdogan said.

The explosion happened around noon local time, at the Habas Demir Celik facility in the Aliaga district of Turkey’s Izmir province, where iron and steel are processed.

The incident occurred when a ceiling crane snapped and fell into an arc furnace during the molten steel casting process. 

13 people were injured, and 2 were in serious condition, Bloomberg reported. The victims were transported to different hospitals in the region. 

The government said the incident is under investigation.

(With files from Reuters and Bloomberg)