ALIAGA, Turkiye: Six people were arrested overnight after a huge blast at a steel plant near the western city of Izmir killed 17 workers, with grieving families waiting Tuesday to receive their loved ones’ bodies for burial.
Onlookers said Monday’s massive explosion felt like “an earthquake” when it ripped through the HABAS steel factory in Aliaga, a district 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Izmir known for shipbreaking and heavy industry.
Police have so far detained six people in connection with the incident, with Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar warning “the number could rise.”
The deadly blast at one of Turkiye’s top steel producers also left around a dozen people injured, at least one in critical condition.
Outside the forensic institute in Aliaga, bereaved family members told AFP they had been waiting all night for confirmation that their loved ones had been identified so they could be laid to rest.
“We have been here since yesterday, we’re waiting for the DNA results. Since the bodies are in a condition that makes visual identification impossible, the identification process is carried out through DNA analysis,” said Turgut Dilek, saying his nephew Ozcan Efe was one of the dead.
Meanwhile, there was no word on the fate of a 40-year-old man who set himself alight outside the factory on Monday evening and was taken…
