News   /   Turkey

Five workers dead as blast rips through rocket factory in Turkish capital

People gather outside the Machinery and Chemical Industry (MKE) Rocket and Explosive Factory in Elmadag district, Ankara, Turkey, on June 10, 2023, following an explosion at the factory. (Photo by Anadolu news agency)

The Turkish National Defense Ministry says at least five workers lost their lives when an explosion ripped through a rocket and explosives factory in the country’s capital city of Ankara.

“An explosion occurred at the MKE Rocket and Explosives Factory in the Elmadag district of Ankara. As a result of the explosion, five of our workers have been martyred,” the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

It added that judicial and administrative investigations have been launched into the incident.

The facility where the early morning blast took place is reportedly owned by Turkey’s Machinery and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE).

The factory operates to meet the rocket and explosive needs of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Interior.

Firefighters and ambulances were dispatched to the factory after the blast.

Ankara governor Vasip Sahin told reporters there were no more workers trapped, waiting to be rescued, or hospitalized.

He added that the explosion was caused by a chemical reaction, according to the local CNN Türk television news network.

The state-run TRT Haber television news channel described the condition of some of those injured in the explosion as serious. They were transferred to nearby hospitals by ambulances to receive medical treatment.

Minister of Justice Yilmaz Tunc stated that a judicial and administrative investigation has been launched regarding the explosion that hit the Machinery and Chemical Industry (MKE) Rocket and Explosive Factory in Elmadağ.

“I wish God’s mercy on our workers who were martyred in the explosion… I wish patience be bestowed upon their relatives by God. The necessary judicial and administrative investigations have been launched to clarify the incident,” Tunc said in a statement published on his social media account.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku