The death toll from the explosion and fire at the Habas iron and steel plant in Aliaga, in Turkey's western Izmir province, has risen to 16, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised address following a scheduled cabinet meeting on Monday, November 9. The blast also injured 13 people, two of them critically, Erdogan said, according to the Associated Press. Reuters independently reported the same death toll of 16, citing Erdogan's remarks after the cabinet meeting in Ankara.

Source: Associated Press via The Reflector, Nov 9, 2026

Investigations launched, five reported detained

"Judicial and administrative investigations have been launched into the explosion," Erdogan said. "The reasons and circumstances of this tragic event, which has deeply saddened our nation, as well as whose negligence was involved and who is responsible, will be revealed." Justice Minister Akin Gurlek has assigned four public prosecutors to the case, the governor's office said. The private Demiroren News Agency reported that five people were detained in relation to the explosion, the Associated Press reported; officials have not publicly named those detained.

Source: Associated Press via The Reflector, Nov 9, 2026

Boiler switch, 200 workers on site

Governor Elban gave a fuller account of how the blast happened: a crane fell into a furnace as it was replacing a boiler, causing an explosion in a nearby steel mill. There were 200 workers in the vicinity instead of the usual 300, he said, because production had been halted for the boiler switch. The governor's office said the blast happened at around noon local time (0900 GMT) on Monday at the plant in Aliaga, about 60 kilometres north of Izmir city. Earlier official findings had described an overhead crane snapping and falling into an electric arc furnace during liquid steel casting; no final cause has been established.

Source: Reuters via Sowetan, Nov 9, 2026

Broadcaster NTV showed images of the immediate aftermath, with a large fire inside the facility and a tall column of smoke rising. Witness Nuri Ali Ulker was quoted by the state-run Anadolu Agency as saying, "The ground shook. It was very intense," while another witness, Deniz Ulker, said the explosion "felt like the earth's crust was shifting beneath us. I thought it was an earthquake." Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said emergency teams fought the blaze while searching for casualties, and posted that the injured had been taken to hospitals and their health was being closely monitored.

How the toll climbed, and what happens next

The governor's office first reported three dead, 14 injured and 10 people trapped under the rubble. The toll then rose to six, and later to 10 dead, 15 in hospital and four workers still missing in Governor Elban's afternoon update, before Erdogan raised the confirmed deaths to 16 after the cabinet meeting. Wire reports have differed slightly on the injured count during the day — Reuters reported 14 injured, three of them serious, in its account of the governor's statement — and Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay has said the exact number of casualties will become clear only once the debris is removed. Search and rescue work at the site is continuing.

The Habas plant was established in 1987 and can produce about 4.5 million tons of steel a year, according to the company's website. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as Turkish officials release verified new figures from the rescue and the prosecutors' investigation.