Steel Plant Explosion Kills 17 Workers

A powerful explosion rocked a steel plant in western Turkey, killing 17 people and injuring 13 other workers.

Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday (10 November 2026) that the blast occurred at the HABAS plant in Aliaga, about 60 kilometres north of Izmir. It happened at 11.46am local time on Monday.

Initial reports said 16 workers had died, but Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu later raised the toll to 17 after one of the critically injured victims died from their injuries.

The Governor of Izmir said the fatal explosion was caused by an overhead crane falling onto a large industrial furnace while a steam boiler was being replaced.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan immediately announced a full investigation into the deadly incident. He also said that two of the injured workers were in critical condition.

Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay said the final number of people killed and injured would only be known after the debris had been cleared. A witness, Deniz Ulker, said the powerful blast felt like an earthquake.

“When I looked at the factory across the road, thick black smoke was coming out,” he said. “The fire was centred where the chimney is.”

Workers’ groups were quick to highlight the steel plant’s long record of safety problems. The Izmir branch of the Workers’ Party of Turkey described the incident as the plant’s third fatal accident in the past three weeks.

In a post on X, the group said seven employees had died in various accidents at the plant over the past 10 years. It accused the company of failing to meet proper maintenance requirements and safety standards.

The deadly incident at the Turkish industrial site prompted condolences from the international community. The European Union and Azerbaijan were among those that sent messages of sympathy.