ALIAĞA, Turkey. An explosion and fire tore through the HABAŞ iron and steel plant in Aliağa, İzmir province, on Monday, November 9, and the death toll has since risen to 18. Officials said an overhead crane collapsed into an electric arc furnace, and the toll rose in steps over two days as rescuers worked through the debris. The original Zark News report is here: Steel Plant Blast Kills 16 in Western Turkey, Erdogan Says.
Why it matters
This is one of the deadliest single workplace accidents in Turkey in recent years, at one of its large steel plants. Investigators now have to answer a public question: how a crane could fall into a furnace holding liquid steel, at a plant where Turkish reporting says other workers died in separate accidents only weeks earlier. İSİG, the Health and Safety Labour Watch, counts 1,736 workplace deaths across Turkey in the first nine months of 2026.
What we know
- Where and when: The blast happened at 11:46 a.m. local time (08:46 GMT) on Monday, November 9, at the HABAŞ plant in Aliağa, about 60 kilometres north of İzmir city, according to Reuters and the İzmir governor’s office. The plant was established in 1987 and produces about 4.5 million tons of steel a year.
- The first official account of the cause: The governor’s office said its first findings showed that an overhead crane snapped and fell into an electric arc furnace during the casting of liquid steel. That is a preliminary account from officials, not a finding by investigators.
- How the toll rose: The governor’s office first reported 3 dead, 14 injured and 10 missing, then raised the toll to 6. The Associated Press then reported 10 dead, 15 injured and 4 missing, citing Governor Süleyman Elban’s televised update at about 4:45 p.m. local time. After a cabinet meeting, President Erdoğan said 16 were killed, according to Reuters. Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu later said a critically injured worker had died, raising the toll to 17. On Tuesday, November 10, search teams recovered the body of a missing worker, identified in Turkish media reports as Güner Gökçe, bringing the toll to 18, according to Agence France-Presse reporting published by Turkish Minute. The latest reports put the injured at 12, one of them critically.
- The response and the investigations: Firefighters and search and rescue teams worked at the plant, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said the Menemen chief prosecutor’s office opened an investigation, with four prosecutors assigned. Labour Minister Vedat Işıkhan said a chief inspector was appointed.
- Detentions: Five people were detained at first, and six had been detained by the evening of November 9, according to Turkish and international reporting. On November 10, prosecutors issued detention warrants for 11 people, including senior managers and technical staff, according to Agence France-Presse reporting published by Turkish Minute. HABAŞ board chairman Mehmet Rüştü Başaran was detained that day in Istanbul’s Kartal district and was expected to be taken to İzmir for questioning. Deputy Justice Minister Can Tuncay confirmed on Tuesday that detention orders covered 11 people, including the chairman, according to Reuters. It was not immediately clear whether the 11 warrants included the six people already detained.
- The plant’s recent safety record, as reported: Two workers died in separate accidents at the plant in the weeks before the blast. Eyüp Eğinli, 20, died on November 5 when a heavy vehicle tyre exploded while it was being inflated, and Hakan Doğan, 55, died on October 21 after falling about eight metres, according to Evrensel reporting cited by Turkish Minute. The Evrensel daily also reported at least 11 deaths at the plant over the past decade, a reported claim, not an established fact.
What we still don’t know
- Whether the toll will rise again: İzmir Mayor Cemil Tugay said the exact toll would only be known once the debris is cleared. The injured figures have also shifted between announcements: the latest reports put the injured at 12, while earlier official updates gave figures between 12 and 15.
- What work was under way: The accounts do not match. The governor’s office statement described liquid steel casting. Governor Elban, at the scene, described a boiler replacement operation. HABAŞ said it happened during planned maintenance on an electric arc furnace. Later accounts partly bridge the three: the BBC reported that the governor said a crane carrying a replacement boiler collapsed, causing materials to fall into a furnace below.
- Why the crane fell: No investigator has yet explained why the crane snapped, whether safety rules were followed, or whether earlier warnings at the plant played any part.
- Who the dead are: A full official list of names has not been published. Turkish media have named some of those killed, including Güner Gökçe, whose body was recovered on November 10, and relatives told Agence France-Presse they were waiting for DNA results before they could bury their family members.
- The damage: How much of the plant was damaged, and when any part of it could restart, has not been stated.
What’s next
Two inquiries now run side by side: the Menemen prosecutors’ investigation and the Labour Ministry chief inspector’s inquiry. The prosecutors’ detention orders, reaching up to the company’s chairman, are now part of that work. Their first test is to reconcile the different accounts of what was happening when the crane fell, and then explain, with evidence, why it fell.
Timeline
- October 21, 2026: Hakan Doğan, 55, died at the plant after falling about eight metres, according to Evrensel reporting cited by Turkish Minute.
- November 5, 2026: Eyüp Eğinli, 20, died at the plant when a heavy vehicle tyre exploded while it was being inflated, according to Evrensel reporting cited by Turkish Minute.
- November 9, 11:46 a.m. local time (08:46 GMT): An explosion and fire hit the HABAŞ plant in Aliağa, İzmir province.
- November 9, early updates: The governor’s office reported 3 dead, 14 injured and 10 missing. The toll was later raised to 6.
- November 9, about 4:45 p.m. local time: Governor Elban said in a televised update that 10 were dead, 15 injured and 4 missing, according to the Associated Press.
- November 9, later on Monday: Prosecutors opened an investigation, and the Labour Ministry appointed a chief inspector. Five people were detained, and six had been detained by the evening.
- November 9, after the cabinet meeting: President Erdoğan said 16 people were killed, according to Reuters.
- November 9, later that evening: Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said a critically injured worker had died, raising the toll to 17.
- November 10, 2026: Search teams recovered the body of a missing worker, identified in Turkish media reports as Güner Gökçe, bringing the toll to 18, according to Agence France-Presse reporting published by Turkish Minute.
- November 10, 2026: Prosecutors issued detention warrants for 11 people, and HABAŞ board chairman Mehmet Rüştü Başaran was detained in Istanbul’s Kartal district, according to Agence France-Presse reporting published by Turkish Minute.
