Thirteen people died and another 38 were injured in an explosion in a smelting furnace in the Morowali Nickel Industrial Park, Indonesia, this Saturday (23). According to the local administration, the 13 victims were eight Indonesians and five Chinese.
According to reports, the explosion at the factory on the island of Sulawesi occurred during furnace maintenance at around 5:30 a.m. local time (6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Brazil time). The fire was extinguished by the fire department around four hours later.
“According to initial investigations, the explosion may have been caused by the fact that there was still explosive liquid at the bottom of the oven. An explosion occurred during repairs,” said a spokesman for the industrial park.
The first explosion triggered several more explosions because many oxygen cylinders were used to weld and cut furnace components for repairs, the spokesman added.
According to the statement, the management of the industrial park will also coordinate with related parties to investigate the incident and cover all treatment costs for the victims.
Morowali Industrial Park focuses on nickel and is owned by Chinese brand Tsingshan and its local partner Bintang Delapan Group, which produces stainless steel and carbon steel.
Indonesia is the world's largest nickel producer and has millions of dollars in global investment after the government banned exports of unprocessed ore in 2020.