11 Killed in Sugar Factory Explosion

Three workers were from Brazil, Kenya, and India and eight Tanzanian technicians were killed, and two others were seriously injured early Thursday in an explosion at a sugar factory in Morogoro Region of eastern Tanzania, East Africa, a local official told Xinhua News Agency.

Morogoro Regional Fire and Rescue Commander Shaban Marujugo told Xinhua over the phone that the blast occurred at 1:00 a.m. local time (2300 GMT Wednesday) at the Mtibwa sugar factory in Kilombero District.

The blast hit the control room, where technicians were testing one of the newly fixed heating systems for sugar production, Juma Ramadhan Palamba, an electrician at the plant, told Xinhua. The explosion occurred after a pipe that releases steam into a boiler burst.

The newly fixed system was scheduled to start operations on Friday, he said, noting that he escaped unhurt because he had stepped out of the control room to answer a phone call at the time of the explosion.

The blast injured a Tanzanian technician and a Brazilian technician, who were rushed to the Benjamin Mkapa Hospital in the national capital of Dodoma for specialized treatment.

Morogoro Regional Commissioner Adam Malima ordered a three-day shutdown of the sugar factory after the explosion, which he said would pave the way for Tanzania Fire and Rescue Force to investigate the cause of the accident.

Following the explosion, Minister of Industry and Trade Ashatu Kijaji and Minister of Agriculture Hussein Bashe visited the factory and pledged government support in repairing the damage caused by the explosion.

Kijaji said the government was in contact with the embassies of the deceased foreign technicians to make funeral arrangements, as the sugar factory management offered to pay for the funerals.