On a Monday around noon, an explosion and fire ripped through the HABAS steel works in Aliaga, a district of the port city of Izmir on Turkey's western coast, during a shift change when roughly two hundred of the expected three hundred workers were on site. By evening the president had given the count as sixteen dead and thirteen injured, two gravely, though the rubble still held the final number. Many lives were lost in an industry that asks much of human bodies, and the crane-and-furnace account remains a first reading awaiting the slow judgment of prosecutors. Against a national record of w
Explosion at HABAS steel plant in Izmir kills 16 workers as casualty toll rises and safety criticism mounts
16 workers were killed and 13 injured, two seriously, in the explosion and fire at the steel plant.
"I thought it was an earthquake."
Mark
Sixteen dead, thirteen hurt. How firm is that number?
Mimi
It's the president's figure from Monday evening, after a Cabinet meeting. It's higher than what the governor gave earlier in the day.
Luke
And it may not be final. The mayor said the exact count will be known only after the debris is cleared.
Mark
What do we know about the cause?
Mimi
The governor's office said an overhead crane toppled into a furnace during the casting of liquid steel, and that happened around noon.
Luke
That's an early official statement, and an investigation is still under way. I'd hold it as the initial account, not a finding.
Mark
Why does the shift change matter?
Mimi
The governor said production was between shifts, with about 200 people present instead of 300. It suggests the toll could have been higher.
Luke
That's an inference, though. The source doesn't say that, only the headcount.
Mark
And the political reaction?
Mimi
TIP called it workplace homicide, and a union leader demanded the labor minister's resignation.
Luke
Those are accusations from the opposition and unions. Nothing reported yet establishes responsibility. The September figure of 226 deaths comes from one NGO, Health and Safety Labor Watch.
O Pulso
- A blast and fire at the HABAS steel plant in Aliaga tore through the works around noon on Monday, leaving sixteen workers dead and thirteen injured.
- The death toll climbed past the early figures as rescue teams searched rubble, and officials warned it could still rise.
- An overhead crane reportedly toppled into a furnace during liquid steel casting, though the cause is still only an initial finding.
- Four public prosecutors have been assigned, and investigators will test the crane account while debris is cleared.
- Opposition TIP and unions call it workplace homicide and demand the labor minister resign, pressing a national debate over safety.
On a Monday around noon, an explosion and fire ripped through the HABAS steel works in Aliaga, a district of the port city of Izmir on Turkey's western coast, during a shift change when roughly two hundred of the expected three hundred workers were on site. By evening the president had given the count as sixteen dead and thirteen injured, two gravely, though the rubble still held the final number. Many lives were lost in an industry that asks much of human bodies, and the crane-and-furnace account remains a first reading awaiting the slow judgment of prosecutors. Against a national record of workplace deaths that grieves many, this disaster arrives as another hard reminder of what it costs to make steel.
Around noon on Monday, an explosion and fire tore through the HABAS steel plant in Aliaga, a district of Izmir in western Turkey. Witnesses said the ground shook beneath them. One worker, Deniz Ulker, said he thought it was an earthquake.
Early figures from the governor were lower than the ones that followed. By evening President Recep Tayyip Erdogan put the toll at sixteen workers dead and thirteen injured, two of them seriously. Izmir's mayor warned that the exact count would only be clear once the debris was cleared, and that the number could still rise.
The plant was in the middle of a shift change, with about two hundred workers on site instead of the usual three hundred. Officials said an overhead crane had toppled into a furnace while liquid steel was being cast, but they described this as an initial finding under investigation. Four public prosecutors have been assigned to the case.
Political criticism came quickly. The leftist opposition party TIP called the deaths workplace homicide, and union leader Basaran Aksu demanded the labor minister's resignation. Their charge rests on a wider record: an independent watch group counted 226 workplace deaths across Turkey in September alone.
For now, the rubble must be cleared to fix the final toll. The prosecutors' findings will decide whether the early account of the crane and the furnace holds.
Around noon on Monday, an explosion and fire tore through the HABAS steel plant in Aliaga, a district of the port city of Izmir in western Turkey. By evening, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking after a Cabinet meeting, put the toll at 16 workers dead and 13 injured, two of them seriously.
That figure was higher than the ones given earlier in the day. Izmir governor Suleyman Elban had offered lower numbers to reporters while search and rescue teams worked to find anyone who might be trapped under the rubble. Mayor Cemil Tugay wrote on X that the first fire had been put out, but that the exact count of dead and injured would be clear only once the debris was cleared, a warning that the number could still rise.
According to the governor, the plant was in the middle of a shift change rather than active production. Roughly 200 workers were on site, instead of the 300 who would normally be expected. An earlier statement from his office said the blast came when an overhead crane toppled into a furnace while liquid steel was being cast. The authorities said they were investigating, and the crane account was presented as an initial finding rather than a settled conclusion.
The official response moved quickly. Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said the injured had been taken to hospital and that their condition was being closely monitored. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said four public prosecutors had been assigned to the case.
Witnesses described a violent shock. Nuri Ali Ulker called the blast very intense and told the state-run Anadolu news agency that the ground shook. Another witness, Deniz Ulker, told the agency it felt as though the earth's crust was shifting beneath them. "I thought it was an earthquake," he said.
HABAS was founded in 1987, and its website says the plant can produce 4.5 million tons of steel a year.
Political criticism arrived the same day. The leftist opposition party TIP said the blast again showed that occupational health and safety were being completely disregarded in Turkey, and called it workplace homicide. TIP leader Erkan Bas wrote online that the regime of bosses had declared war on workers. Union leader Basaran Aksu said the deaths demanded the resignation of the labor minister, and alleged that workers' blood was being shed for profit.
The criticism rests on a wider record. The independent group Health and Safety Labor Watch counted 226 workplace deaths across Turkey in September of this year. DW notes that this is about two-thirds of what Germany, with a similar population, recorded over the whole of 2025.
What comes next is the clearing of the rubble, which will fix the final toll, and the work of the four prosecutors, whose findings will test the early account of the crane and the furnace.
Citações Notáveis
The regime of bosses has declared war on the workers.— Erkan Bas, TIP leader
The massacre calls for the resignation of the minister of labor.— Basaran Aksu, union leader
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Politics & Governance