By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ISTANBUL, TURKEY (Worthy News) – Investigators rushed to the scene of a blast that ripped through an explosives factory in northwest Turkey, killing 11 people and injuring seven.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the injured were treated at nearby hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries.
Officials said the blast occurred in Balikesir province, a rural area away from population centers.
Balikesir Governor Ismail Ustaoglu said the explosion collapsed the capsule production building, and the surrounding buildings suffered minor damage. “The explosion was due to a technical issue. There is no possibility of sabotage,” he added.
He spoke amid concerns in Turkey about possible terror attacks as it fights against Kurdish forces, including in Syria.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched a counteroffensive Tuesday against the Ankara-backed Syrian National Army to take back areas near Syria’s northern border with Turkey.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc wrote on social media platform X that public prosecutors have been assigned to investigate the cause of Tuesday’s blast.
However, that investigation was due to take time, with witnesses seeing massive devastation.
Footage from the scene showed a fireball and smoke rising from the factory building at the time of the blast, as well as the mangled metal framework of the building in the aftermath.
As relatives of the dead plunged into mourning, man fire crews were sent to deal with the blaze, while health and security units were dispatched to the area, the government’s communications directorate confirmed.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Several nations have threatened to boycott the world’s largest televised song competition if Israel participates.
Suspected Islamist gunmen on motorbikes have killed at least 22 people in Niger, including about 15 at a baptism ceremony and seven more nearby, officials and witnesses said. In neighboring Nigeria, a Christian farmer in the Abuja area separately told Worthy News he miraculously escaped armed men raiding his land.
At least nine people have died in Pakistan’s Punjab province when a rescue boat capsized during flood relief efforts, authorities confirmed over the weekend amid massive death and destruction that also impacted the Islamic nation’s tiny Christian minority.
The U.S. Department of State on Wednesday announced the designation of four Iran-backed militias as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), escalating pressure on Tehran and its network of proxies across the Middle East.
Israel on Wednesday announced that its long-awaited laser air defense system, known as the “Iron Beam,” is now fully operational following a series of advanced tests. The Defense Ministry and developer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said the first batteries will be delivered to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) by the end of the year, marking a historic first for military technology worldwide.
Iran erupted in protests overnight as thousands took to the streets to mark the third anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, the young Kurdish woman killed in custody by the regime’s morality police after refusing to wear a hijab.
The European Commission on Wednesday formally unveiled a proposal to sanction far-right Israeli ministers and partially suspend the European Union’s association agreement with Israel, marking a dramatic escalation of Europe’s response to the war in Gaza.