At least 10 people were killed and 15 others injured, two of them critically, after a massive explosion triggered a fire at an iron and steel plant in western Turkiye on Monday, officials said, as emergency teams continued searching for four workers believed to be trapped beneath the debris.
The explosion occurred at the HABAS steelworks in Aliaga, in Izmir province, around noon local time (0900 GMT), when an overhead crane toppled into a furnace during the casting of liquid steel, according to the provincial governor's office.
Izmir Governor Suleyman Elban confirmed the revised casualties in a televised update, saying rescue teams were searching for four people still believed to be under the wreckage.
The latest figures marked a sharp increase from the initial official toll of three deaths, 14 injuries and 10 missing persons.
Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay said the exact number of casualties would become clear only after emergency teams completed the removal of debris.
๐๐ข๐ญ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ญ
The explosion sent flames and thick smoke rising from the industrial facility, with television footage showing a large fire burning inside the steelworks.
Broadcaster NTV aired images of a towering column of smoke above the plant as emergency personnel worked to contain the blaze and locate missing workers.
Witnesses described the force of the explosion as resembling an earthquake.
"The ground shook. It was very intense," witness Nuri Ali Ulker told the state-run Anadolu news agency.
Another witness, Deniz Ulker, said the explosion was so powerful that he initially believed an earthquake had struck the area.
"It felt like the earth's crust was shifting beneath us. I thought it was an earthquake," he said.
The blast caused extensive damage inside the facility, complicating rescue operations as teams searched through the wreckage for workers who remained unaccounted for.
๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ
Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said emergency response teams had been deployed to extinguish the fire and search for casualties.
He confirmed that injured workers had been transported to hospitals and were receiving medical treatment.
"Our injured compatriots have been taken to hospitals and their health is being closely monitored," Ciftci said in a social media post.
Governor Elban said two of the 15 injured workers were in critical condition, while search teams continued efforts to locate the four missing people.
Authorities have not yet provided further details about the identities of those killed or the conditions of the missing workers.
๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐
The Izmir governor's office said preliminary information indicated that the explosion occurred after an overhead crane fell into a furnace containing molten steel during casting operations.
An investigation has been launched to establish the circumstances surrounding the accident and determine whether safety failures or other factors contributed to the disaster.
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said four public prosecutors had been assigned to investigate the incident.
Officials have not yet announced any findings regarding possible negligence or violations of industrial safety regulations.
The HABAS steel plant, established in 1987, has an annual production capacity of 4.5 million tonnes of steel, according to the company's website.
Aliaga is a major industrial and port centre in western Turkiye, with extensive steel production and shipbreaking operations.
The district's ship recycling industry has previously attracted criticism from environmental organisations over pollution and concerns about the environmental impact of dismantling vessels.
Campaigners have called for Aliaga's shipbreaking yard to be removed from the European Union's list of approved ship recycling facilities.
The industrial disaster occurred as world leaders and environmental activists gathered in Antalya, on Turkiye's Mediterranean coast, for international climate negotiations.
Rescue operations at the HABAS facility remained underway on Monday, with authorities warning that the final casualty figures could change once the search of the damaged plant was completed.