Powerful explosion near Turkey's Derince port leaves 12 injured

By
Web Desk

August 07, 2023

View of ambulances at the scene after an explosion on busy pedestrian Istiklal Street in Istanbul, Turkey, November 13, 2022. — Reuters
View of ambulances at the scene after an explosion on busy pedestrian Istiklal Street in Istanbul, Turkey, November 13, 2022. — Reuters

  • The cause of the explosion yet to be ascertained.
  • AFAD says one rescued from rubble, no loss of life yet.
  • TMO says 13 silos, outbuildings damaged in incident.

A power explosion near Dernice Port, Kocaeli province of Turkey, as per initial reports, rocked the grain silos and left scores of people injured, Turkish media said Monday citing the first emergency responders.

The cause of the explosion is yet to be ascertained which occurred near the port of Derince at around 2:40pm (1140 GMT) near Turkish Grain Board (TMO) silos, TRT reported.

The explosion left a trail of destruction with firefighters including other emergency personnel dispatched to the scene for immediate medical assistance.

According to Turkey's disaster and emergency management authority AFAD, one person has been rescued from under the rubble and there is "no loss of life as of now".

Seddar Yavuz, the governor of Kocaeli said: "Initial evaluations show that an explosion occurred due to wheat dust compression during the transfer of wheat from a ship to the silo.”

"We were told that it is technically possible that a blast could occur due to compression of wheat dust, but we are investigating every possible reason," Yavuz said.

Yavuz also said that health, search and rescue, and fire brigade teams were quickly transferred to the region following the incident.

"We quickly rescued our friends from the scene and sent them to health institutions with ambulances as soon as possible," the governor added.

The TMO said that 13 silos and outbuildings were damaged in the incident.

“It is considered that the explosion may be due to dust compression and the cause will be clarified after detailed technical investigation,” the statement said.

The Ministry of Transportation said no ships were damaged due to the explosion, according to Turkish media.

"We heard an explosion noise and we saw the explosion hit TMO's silos. [The] injured people were sent to hospital," Derince Mayor Zeki Akgun said according to TRT.