At least six people have been killed and eight injured in a blast at a factory in western Turkey on Monday.
A “meticulous” search and rescue operation is being carried out at Habas iron and steel manufacturing plant in the Aliaga district of the coastal Izmir province following an explosion that occurred around noon local time (9am GMT).
Initial findings say the blast came after a ceiling crane that snapped and fell into an arc furnace during the liquid steel casting process. Electric arc furnaces typically reach internal temperatures of up to 1,800C.
Footage shown by local TV stations appears to show large plumes of grey dust rising above the factory while images of a large fire inside the facility have also been shared online.
The local governor’s office originally reported three deaths after two people were pulled from the rubble and another died at a hospital after sustaining “serious injuries”.
But in a “painful development”, it said the incident has now claimed the lives of at least six people.
According to state-run news, Nuri Ali Ulker, who was near the plant when the explosion occurred, said the blast was so powerful it caused the ground to shake. He said a cloud of smoke rose after the blast before firefighters and ambulances attended the scene.
Another witness, Deniz Ulker, said that the explosion “felt like the earth’s crust was shifting beneath us” – originally mistaking the blast for an earthquake.
Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said that emergency teams fought the blaze while searching for casualties. “Our injured compatriots have been taken to hospitals and their health is being closely monitored,” he posted on social media.
İzmir Aliağa’da, bir Demir Çelik Fabrikası'nda patlama meydana gelmiş ve akabinde yangın çıkmıştır.
— Mustafa ÇİFTÇİ (@mustafaciftcitr) November 9, 2026
Olayın ilk anından itibaren tüm ilgili birimlerimiz koordineli bir şekilde sahada arama-kurtarma, söndürme ve müdahale çalışmalarını aralıksız sürdürmektedir.
Yaralanan…
Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay said that the exact number of casualties would only be known once the debris is cleared.
Habas, established in 1987, is one of the country’s leading steel producers, with capacity to produce 4,500,000 metric tons of liquid steel per year.
The disaster came as world leaders and environmental activists gathered in Antalya, on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, for talks on curbing climate change as part of the annual COP31 summit.
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