Istanbul (AFP) – An accidental explosion at a steel factory near the port city of Izmir in western Turkey has killed at least sixteen people, in circumstances that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to clarify.

Published on: 09/11/2026 - 18:26Modified on: 09/11/2026 - 18:57

“Unfortunately, 16 people lost their lives in the explosion, while 13 others, two of whom are in critical condition, continue to receive medical treatment,” the president said on television.

“The circumstances of this tragic incident (...), in particular the reasons why it took place, the possible existence of negligence and the identity of those responsible, will be established,” he added while the event aroused considerable emotion.

The powerful explosion occurred around 9:00 a.m. local time at the Habas Demir Celik factory in Aliaga, about 60 kilometers north of Izmir, after the collapse of a crane in an industrial furnace.

A fire then broke out on the site.

“During a boiler replacement operation (...), the overhead crane fell and the materials that fell from it landed in the arc furnace, causing an explosion in the steelworks located behind it,” explained the governor of Izmir, Süleyman Elban.

Images from DHA showed a thick cloud of smoke rising into the blue sky, while flames appeared to engulf a tall structure within the factory.

"An earthquake"

Deniz Ulker, a witness, described vibrations resembling an earthquake. "The ground was moving under our feet, I thought it was an earthquake. When I looked at the factory across the street, thick black smoke was coming out. A fire broke out at the chimney," he told the state-run Anadolu news agency.

According to the mayor of Izmir, Cemil Tugay, the rescue teams were working to "clear the platform (which has) collapsed". All the victims are factory workers.

The Minister of Labor, Vedat Isıkhan, and that of Energy, Alparslan Bayraktar, visited the site late in the afternoon, President Erdogan confirmed.

“The causes of the explosion, any negligence and any failure to monitor must be brought to light in full transparency, and no one responsible must go unpunished,” demanded the DEM party (opposition), the third political force in the country.

In the middle of the afternoon, the daily Evrensel, close to the opposition, indicated that anti-riot units had been deployed in front of the Aliaga public hospital where the injured were admitted.

“The police are blocking access to the hospital. Relatives of the injured are waiting in the courtyard of the establishment while the transfer of the injured continues,” the site said.

“Postponement of maintenance operations”

Two activists from the Aegean Workers' Collective were arrested while denouncing the security conditions at the site. “The blind greed of the Habas management has caused a major catastrophe,” Oktay Türk, spokesperson for the collective, told AFP.

“We expressed our legitimate and well-founded indignation (...) in front of the hospital. Sonay Tezcan and Yücel Memiş (...) were placed in detention,” he denounced. “Our comrades must be released immediately and those responsible for this massacre brought to justice.”

The company refused to answer AFP's questions by telephone.

The local cell of the Workers' Party (EMEP, Marxist-Leninist) for its part deplored the systematic non-compliance with basic security measures.

“For years, workers have denounced the postponement of maintenance and overhaul operations in order not to disrupt production,” he noted. “The iron and steel giants, who boast of their export results, are not worried and the necessary rigorous inspections are not carried out.”

According to Evrensel, this is the third fatal accident at the company in three weeks. It publishes the list of 11 workers who have died since 2018, including 5 subcontractors and 2 interns.

Several accidents have taken place in recent weeks in coal mines across the country, including one that killed five people in the Soma district (west) in early October.

Union sources had mentioned financial tensions weighing on management, which passed them on to the workers to open a new segment within the mine.

© 2026 AFP

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