Explosion and fire at Habaş steel plant near Izmir kills three, 14 injured

What happened

On Monday, 9 November 2026, an explosion hit the Habaş iron and steel plant in Aliağa, a district near the Turkish metropolis of Izmir, and a fire broke out afterwards. Aliağa is one of western Turkey's main industrial areas, with a high concentration of metallurgy, steel production and heavy industry. Videos shared on social media showed a huge plume of smoke over the area. Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi confirmed the blast and the blaze on X, saying numerous firefighting and rescue crews were on site. Ambulances and medical teams were also dispatched, while rescuers worked through the rubble for people who might still be trapped.

Casualty toll

The Izmir governorate's latest statement put the toll at three dead and 14 injured, three of them in critical condition. Ten more people were trapped under the debris, and rescue work to reach them was continuing, with further deaths feared. Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu had earlier confirmed one death and 14 injured, a count the governorate's later statement overtook with three deaths. The injured were taken to hospitals in the region, where their condition is being monitored closely.

Dead3

Injured14

Trapped under debris10

Dead

3

Injured

14

Trapped under debris

10

Data from the article text

Cause and early accounts

Initial investigation findings point to an accident. According to the governorate, an overhead crane is assumed to have broken off while liquid steel was being poured and fallen onto the electric arc furnace.

Early accounts did not agree on where the blast began. One placed it in the zinc section of the plant, another in a carbon dioxide filling facility, and officials had confirmed neither. Officials also had not established whether the explosion happened during production or in an auxiliary area of the site.

Response and earlier count

Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said the rescue and firefighting work had been continuous since the first moment of the incident:

“From the very first moment of the incident, all our relevant units have been carrying out search-and-rescue, firefighting and intervention work in a coordinated manner in the field without interruption.”

Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu had earlier expressed condolences to the family of the worker who died, and said the three seriously injured remained in hospital. Health services stayed on alert while the search continued at the site.

Open questions and an earlier fatal accident

Officials have described the cause only as preliminary, and the sequence of the blast remains under examination. Rescue crews were still searching for the ten trapped people, and firefighters were still working to extinguish the fire. Turkish media reported that a worker employed by a subcontractor died at the Habaş facilities on 5 November when a tyre of a construction machine burst, and an investigation into that death remains open.