13 dead, 46 injured in explosion at Indonesia nickel plant

CNA, Dec 24, 2023

JAKARTA: At least 13 people were killed and 46 injured in eastern Indonesia on Sunday (Dec 24) in an explosion at a Chinese-funded nickel-processing plant, the owner of the industrial park that hosts the facility said.

The island of Sulawesi is a hub for the mineral-rich country's production of nickel, a base metal used for electric vehicle batteries and stainless steel, and Beijing's growing investment has stoked unrest over working conditions at its facilities.

The accident took place at around 5.30am (9.30pm on Saturday GMT) at a plant owned by Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel in the Morowali Industrial Park located in Central Sulawesi province, a spokesperson for the complex said in a statement.

"The confirmed number of fatalities is 13 people, consisting of nine Indonesian workers and four workers from China," the spokesperson said in a statement, revising the number of the fallen foreign workers down one to four.

Forty-six other victims were injured, mostly due to exposure to hot steam, he said.

About 29 victims were referred to a government-run hospital in Morowali district, while 12 others were under observation at a clinic in the industrial complex and five people were receiving outpatient care.

An investigation showed the explosion happened during repair work on a furnace, which was closed for maintenance, when residual slag from the furnace flowed out and came in contact with flammable materials around the location.

The fire was successfully extinguished on Sunday morning, according to the statement.

Tsingshan Holding Group, the world's biggest nickel producer and China's biggest stainless steelmaker, holds a majority stake in ITSS.

ITSS is a tenant in the industrial park, which is also majority-owned by Tsingshan along with local partner Bintang Delapan.

Caption: A Chinese worker who was injured in the explosion at a nickel smelter furnace is brought to the Morowali Regional General Hospital in Central Sulawesi on Dec 24, 2023. (Photo: AFP)