Explosion at steel plant in Turkey kills 16, president says

Monday, 9 November 2026 at 17:06

By Explosion at steel plant in Turkey kills at least six, officials say

A major fire broke out following an explosion at an iron and steel plant in Turkey on Monday killing 16 people, the country's president confirmed.

The explosion at the Habas iron ​and steel manufacturing plant in the Aliaga district in Izmir ​province also injured 14, with three of them in a serious condition.

There are also 10 people still trapped under the rubble following the blast.

It was caused by an overhead crane falling into a furnace as it was casting liquid steel, and took place at around noon local time (9am GMT).

The governor's office said an investigation was under way. Turkey's President Tayyip ​Erdogan confirmed the number of people killed in the incident was 16 on Monday afternoon.

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Interior minister Mustafa Ciftci said emergency services, including firefighters and search and rescue teams, coordinated a response.

"Our injured fellow citizens have been taken to hospitals, and their health is being closely monitored," he wrote in a post on X.

The post added that search and rescue efforts to reach the remaining people trapped under the rubble were ongoing.

Mayor of Izmir, Cemil Tugay, said the exact number of casualties could only be confirmed once the debris has been cleared.

The incident comes as world leaders and environmental activists are due to gather in Antalya, on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, for the first day of the COP31 summit.

Witness Nuri Ali Ulker said: "The ground shook. It was very intense."

Another witness, Deniz Ulker, said that the explosion "felt like the earth's crust was shifting beneath us. I thought it was an earthquake."

Sky News

(c) Sky News 2026: Explosion at steel plant in Turkey kills 16, president says

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