Turkey Steel Plant Blast Kills 18 as Protesters Demand Accountability
An explosion at the HABAS steel plant in Aliaga near Izmir killed 18 people and injured 12 others on November 9, 2026, after a container carrying 120 tonnes of liquid steel fell onto a furnace. Industrial workers and bereaved families have since launched widespread demonstrations across Turkey, demanding stricter safety measures and institutional accountability.
Turkish police arrested six individuals on Monday following the disaster, and detained HABAS chairman Mehmet Rustu Basaran on Tuesday, according to the Anadolu news agency, with ten additional suspects still sought by authorities. Deputy Justice Minister Can Tuncay, citing forensic investigators, stated that the victims sustained burns severe enough to cause carbonisation. Families spent hours outside Aliaga’s forensic institute awaiting DNA confirmations before recovering bodies for burial, with at least five funerals held by Tuesday.
As night fell, roughly 700 people gathered in Aliaga to denounce workplace conditions, while smaller rallies drew 150 demonstrators in Istanbul and about 300 in Ankara under heavy police supervision. Protesters waved banners and chanted slogans calling for workplace safety reform.
Amid the fallout, a 40-year-old truck driver named Turan Ilbay, who escaped the initial blast but returned inside to locate colleagues, set himself on fire outside the factory gates. A provincial health directorate spokeswoman confirmed that Ilbay, who worked at the plant for 23 years, is in serious condition and under intensive care monitoring at Izmir City Hospital.
