At least 18 workers have been killed and dozens more injured after a smelting furnace at a Chinese-owned nickel plant on Indonesia's Sulawesi island exploded.
Central Sulawesi police chief Agus Nugroho said at least four Chinese workers and nine Indonesian workers died while trying to repair a furnace on Sunday (local time).
Three more victims died a day later while being treated at a local hospital.
Two more workers died on Tuesday at the hospital, bringing the total number of fatalities to 18, including eight workers from China.
Mr Nugroho said the blast demolished the furnace and damaged parts of the side walls of the building, and about 46 workers were injured with some in critical condition.
A series of deadly incidents have plagued nickel smelting plants in Indonesia, that form China's ambitious transnational development program called the Belt and Road Initiative.
Nickel is a key component in global battery production for electric vehicles.
Mr Nugroho said rescuers extinguished the fire and evacuated workers after a nearly four-hour operation, adding that police were trying to determine whether negligence by the company caused the deaths.
The explosion occurred at PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel, a subsidiary of PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (PT IMIP) in the Bahodopi neighborhood of Morowali regency and spokesperson Deddy Kurniawan said it would cooperate with the investigation.
"We sincerely apologise for this incident and we are working closely with authorities to investigate what caused the accident," he said.
Mr Kurniawan said the furnace was under maintenance and not operating, but "residual slag (granulated molten rock) in the furnace" came in contact "with flammable items".
This saw the furnace walls collapse and the remaining steel slag to flow out, he said.
"We have ordered PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel to stop its operation until our entire investigation is completed," said Mr Nugroho, adding that authorities had set up a team to determine whether negligence by the company led to the deaths.
Previously, the company said explosive liquids at the bottom of the furnace triggered a fire and a subsequent explosion in nearby oxygen cylinders.
A series of fatal incidents
It was the third deadly incident this year at Chinese-owned nickel smelting plants in Central Sulawesi province, which has the largest nickel reserves in Indonesia.
Two dump truck operators were killed when they were engulfed by a wall of black sludge-like material when a nickel waste disposal site collapsed in April.
In January, two workers, including a Chinese national, were killed in riots that involved workers and security guards at an Indonesia-China joint venture in North Morowali regency.
Last year, a loader truck ran over and killed a Chinese worker while he was repairing a road in PT IMIP's mining area.
An Indonesian man also burned to death when a furnace in the company's factory exploded.
Nearly 50 per cent of PT IMIP's shares are owned by a Chinese holding company, and the rest are owned by two Indonesian companies.
It began smelter operations in 2013 and is now the largest nickel-based industrial area in Indonesia.
In March, three Chinese workers filed a complaint to Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights, alleging that their health was deteriorating from dust and smoke exposure while working seven-day weeks without a break at PT IMIP.
They added that workers did not have adequate safety equipment.
Data from Indonesian watchdog Mining Advocacy Network found at least 22 workers from China and Indonesia have died in nickel smelting plants in Central Sulawesi province since 2019, including two Chinese nationals who died by suicide.
By AP
Original article link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-26/13-killed-46-injured-furnace-explosion-sulawesi-indonesia/103264864
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