A very heavy first assessment. An explosion this Sunday left at least 13 dead and 46 injured at a Chinese nickel processing factory on the island of Sulawesi, in eastern Indonesia, a local official announced. The accident occurred around 5:30 a.m. at a factory of the Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS) company in the Morowali industrial park, said Dedy Kurniawan, spokesperson for this industrial zone.
Initially set at 12, the death toll rose to 13 – eight Indonesians and five Chinese –, he said. The toll of injuries at various levels is 46. According to the first elements of the investigation, the explosion took place during repair work on a blast furnace. A flammable liquid ignited, and the fire spread to oxygen tanks which exploded, the spokesperson explained. The fire was extinguished on Sunday morning.
A factory already affected by a fatal accident in June
An employee of the site testified to the AFP about the seriousness of the victims’ injuries. “Their faces were burned, their clothes were completely burned,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. An industrial park manager, Rachmansyah Ismail, told Kompas TV channel that 25 injured people, mostly Indonesians, had been hospitalized, including 17 with serious injuries.
ITSS is a subsidiary of the world number one nickel producer, the Chinese group Tsingshan Holding Group, which also controls the Morowali park. The island of Sulawesi is a major production center for nickel, a base metal used in particular in electric car batteries and for the manufacture of stainless steel. China has invested heavily in factories there but the working and safety conditions there are often criticized.
In January, two workers, including a Chinese citizen, were killed at a nickel smelting plant located in the same industrial complex during a riot over pay conditions and workplace safety. In June, an accident at this factory left one dead and six injured.