Explosion and fire at the Habas steel plant in Aliaga kill 10 people, with four workers still missing, the Izmir governor says
An explosion and fire at the Habas iron and steel plant in Aliaga, in Turkey's Izmir province, killed 10 people on Monday, Izmir Governor Suleyman Elban said in a televised update, with four workers still missing under the wreckage and 15 people injured, two of them critically. The governor's office said the blast happened at around noon, when an overhead crane fell into a furnace during the casting of liquid steel. An investigation has been opened, and search teams were still looking for the missing.
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Key points
- Ten people died in Monday's explosion and fire at the Habas steel plant in Aliaga, Governor Elban said; four workers are still missing.
- Fifteen people were injured, two of them critically, on the governor's latest update.
- The governor's office said an overhead crane fell into a furnace during liquid-steel casting at around noon.
- Four prosecutors have been assigned and an investigation is under way; the final toll awaits the clearing of the debris.
What happened
Aliaga, north of Izmir on Turkey's Aegean coast, is one of the country's heavy-industry zones, with steel plants, refineries and a large port. The Habas plant was established in 1987 and can produce 4.5 million tons of steel a year, according to the company's website, as reported by the Associated Press.
The toll rose through the day as rescuers worked through the wreckage: three dead in the governor's office's first statement, at least six in its next, and 10 in the governor's televised update, with the number missing falling as bodies were recovered.
Claim by claim
Why this label: The governor's office statement, as reported by Reuters and the Associated Press in agreement on the time, the plant and the crane-and-furnace sequence. The findings are initial, and an investigation is under way.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The governor's televised update, as reported by the Associated Press; the earlier figures are his office's own earlier statements, reported by Reuters and PA. The latest figure replaces the earlier ones; the toll may change again while the search continues.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The ministers' and the mayor's statements, as reported by the Associated Press and PA.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
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Why this label: No finding on the cause beyond the initial crane account, and no statement from the company, was in the reporting read.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The governor's latest figures: 10 dead, 15 injured with two critical, and four workers missing under the wreckage.
- That the blast happened at around noon when an overhead crane fell into a furnace during liquid-steel casting, on the governor's office's initial findings.
What we don't know yet
- The fate of the four missing workers, and the final toll — the mayor said it will be known only when the debris is cleared.
- Why the crane failed, and any statement from Habas itself — neither was in the reporting read.
Why it matters
Ten workers are dead and four are still under the wreckage of one of Turkey's largest steel plants, after a crane fell into a furnace of liquid steel. What the investigation finds about the crane — and about safety at the plant — will decide whether this was a freak failure or a preventable one.
Background
Show the background timeline (4)
The Habas steel plant at Aliaga is established; it can produce 4.5 million tons of steel a year.
An overhead crane falls into an arc furnace during liquid-steel casting; an explosion and fire follow.
The governor's office raises the toll in stages — three dead, then at least six — as rescuers recover bodies.
Governor Elban's televised update puts the dead at 10, with four workers still missing.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published in Checking state — four workers are still missing, and the investigation into why the crane fell has only begun.