In Turkey, an explosion occurs at a defense plant, casualties reported

On Saturday morning, an explosion occurred at a factory for the production of missiles and explosives in Turkey.

As a result of the incident, five workers of the enterprise were killed, the Ministry of Defense of Turkey reported.

The explosion took place at the MKE Rocket and Explosive Materials plant in the Elmadağ area of the Ankara province.

After the explosion, a pillar of smoke rose into the sky in one of the production shops – a fire broke out there.

“The blast happened at a factory for the production of missiles and explosives belonging to the MKE (Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation) in the area of the city of Elmadağ in the province of Ankara. Five workers died. An investigation into what happened has been launched,” the Turkish Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

#SONDURUM
MKE Roket ve Patlayıcı Fabrikası’nda yangın

Önce patlama sesi duyuldu ardından dumanlar yükselmeye başladı pic.twitter.com/9hng3U6SCH

— A Haber (@ahaber) June 10, 2023

Local media reported that the windows of many houses near the plant were blown out.

Immediately after the explosion, firefighters and ambulances arrived at the enterprise.

Five dead and an unspecified number of injured are reported. The condition of some victims, who were taken to local hospitals, was assessed as serious.

Firefighters managed to contain the fire.

#SONDAKİKA MSB: MKE Roket ve Patlayıcı Fabrikasındaki patlamada 5 işçimiz şehit olmuştur https://t.co/erUhYYL4Po pic.twitter.com/VkCFFJODrl

— Habertürk (@Haberturk) June 10, 2023

According to one of the versions of the incident, which is being considered by the local authorities, a chemical reaction of the components of the explosives occurred, which led to the detonation.