Explosion in Illegal Fireworks Factory: 23 Dead, 117 Injured

Today (31 January) an explosion took place in an illegal fireworks factory in a five-storey trade building in Istanbul’s district of Davutpasa.

A total of 23 people have died, some of them after being taken to hospital, others were found under the rubble; according to the latest updates from Hürriyet’s news website, 117 people have been injured. 74 of those injured are still being treated in hospital.

Firefighters, the civil defense directorate, Greater Istanbul Municipality and the AKUT volunteer rescue team worked together to search the rubble.

Some died in second explosion

It has emerged that tragically eight of the dead were people who came to the site of the explosion to watch the fire and were killed in a second explosion.

There are other buildings very close to the trade building; their windows broke and some of their walls cracked.

Istanbul’s Governor Muammer Güler, Greater Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas and Chief of Police Celalettin Cerrah came to the near-by Bayrampasa hospital where some of the injured were being treated.

Total disregard for safety and lack of inspection 

Güler stated that the third and fourth floors of the trade building had been used as an illegal fireworks factory and/or depot. 

Underneath the depot, there were paint and thread factories which used boilers. According to Güler, the explosion took place in the fireworks area.

The mayor of the Zeytinburnu municipality where the explosion site is located said that there were five workplaces in the building:

“Two of them had licenses and two of them had applied for licenses. The jeans washing factory had been sealed because it was unlicensed, but despite the seal, they continued working. The Greater Istanbul Municipality then filed a complaint with the prosecution. The municipality had no information about there being a fireworks factory or depot in the building."

The accident has been condemned by trade unions and the Labour Party (EMEP) who called the explosion a “work murder.”

DISK: Murders will continue

The Confederation of Turkish Revolutionary Workers’ Trade Unions (DISK) said: “Those who have tried to protect their wealth by saying ‘profit and capital first’ rather than ‘people first’ share responsibility for these murders. Turkey has lost hundreds of workers in this and similar accidents which have turned into murders, in workplaces that are unsafe, unhealthy, unprotected, unlicensed and uninspected.”

“In the last seven months, thirteen workers have died in ‘accidents’ on shipbuilding yards. In Bursa five female workers died in a fire, hundreds of miners have died in mines because there were no precautions against collapses and explosions, and since 2004 55 people have died in train accidents because of lack of maintenance, lack of preventative measures, and stupidity.”

“As long as the government does not close down these so-called production sites with illegal, irregular, unsafe and unhealthy conditions, these murders will not stop.”

EMEP: Those responsible must be prosecuted 

The Labour Party (EMEP) called on all workers’ and labour organisations, particularly the trade unions, to stand up for workers’ rights; the party also demanded that those responsible for the murders be prosecuted.

The party accused both those not implementing the regulations and the government and “profit-seeking local authorities” of being responsible for the explosion.

LIMTER-Is, the trade union for ship-builders and dock workers, also accused the employers who did not follow regulations of causing these “work murders.” It also predicted further such murders if there were not control of illegal workplaces. (NZ/TK/AG)