- Investigations into nickel plant negligence
- Deadly furnace explosion kills 13
- 38 injured in Indonesian incident
Workers were repairing a furnace when it abruptly erupted, resulting in thirteen fatalities and approximately thirty-eight injuries.
After a smelter furnace explosion at a nickel factory in Indonesia, officials report that at least thirteen people have been slain, and dozens have been injured.
During furnace maintenance at approximately 5:30 a.m. local time, an explosion occurred at the Morowali industrial park on the island of Sulawesi.
Some 38 individuals were transported to the hospital in critical condition, according to the police.
A minimum of five Chinese and eight Indonesian labourers perished when the furnace erupted unexpectedly during maintenance, according to Agus Nugroho, the police superintendent of Central Sulawesi.
He added that the explosion was of such magnitude that it caused the destruction of the furnace. Significant damage occurred to portions of the building’s side walls.
The police superintendent said they are examining whether the corporation was negligent in causing the deaths.
Chinese-owned Indonesian nickel smelting plants that exploded recently caused the latest fatalities.
Indonesia, the largest producer of nickel in the world, has witnessed a surge in the importance of nickel due to the influx of billions of dollars in foreign investment following the government’s 2020 prohibition on exports of unprocessed ore.
Nickel is an essential component in the global production of electric vehicle batteries.
Accidental circumstances developed at PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel.
“We extend our deepest apologies for this incident and are closely collaborating with authorities to determine the cause of the accident,” said Deddy Kurniawan, a spokesperson for the company.
After an almost four-hour operation, rescuers extinguished the fire and evacuated the affected personnel, he added.
Preliminary inquiry revealed the presence of explosive substances beneath the furnace, which ignited and subsequently exploded in adjacent oxygen cylinders.
