Speaking after a Cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdogan said judicial and administrative investigations had been launched to establish the cause of the blast and determine whether negligence was involved, Anadolu Agency reported.
The explosion occurred at around 11:46 a.m. local time at the HABAS Iron and Steel Plant in the Aliaga district of Izmir during furnace replacement work, Izmir Governor Suleyman Elban said.
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According to the governor, a ceiling crane collapsed, causing materials to fall into an electric arc furnace. The impact damaged a natural gas line, triggering the explosion.
Elban initially reported 10 fatalities and 15 injuries, including four people in serious condition. The death toll was later revised to 16 by Erdogan, who said 13 people were injured, two of them seriously.
Search and rescue operations were underway, with four people initially believed to be trapped beneath the debris, the governor said.
Around 200 workers were at the facility during the maintenance operation, compared with more than 300 during regular production shifts.
Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Isikhan and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar were heading to the region, while Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu was also expected to visit Izmir.
