Explosion at Turkish steel plant kills 17 workers

An explosion at the HABAS steel plant in Aliaga, near Izmir, killed 17 workers and injured 13, Turkish officials said. Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu raised the death toll from 16 after a critically injured worker died. Two of the injured were reported to be in critical condition in updates from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other officials.

The blast struck around midday Monday, November 9, during work at the plant. Izmir Governor Süleyman Elban said an overhead crane collapsed into a furnace during a boiler-replacement operation, triggering the explosion. HABAS said the accident occurred during scheduled maintenance on an electric arc furnace. Authorities have not announced the investigation’s findings or established whether negligence contributed.

Erdoğan said an investigation would determine how the explosion happened, whether there was negligence and who was responsible. Officials said rescue and recovery operations continued as they assessed the scene. Earlier casualty figures rose during the response as people were located and injured workers received treatment.

Elban said the plant’s production line was at a shift change when the explosion occurred, with about 200...