Worker Dies in Silo Explosion

On August 7, an explosion took place at the Turkish Grain Board (TMO) silo in the northwestern province of Kocaeli's Derince harbor in Turkey, injuring 12 workers, reported local Hurriyet Daily News.

Five of the 12 workers injured in the incident that occurred while transferring wheat from a ship to the silo in Kocaeli’s Derince district were discharged from the hospital Tuesday.

However, 20-year-old Ekrem Kalkan, who was intubated on the first day he was brought to the hospital, lost his life.

The cause of the incident was determined as a wheat dust explosion, though minor explosions had been reported at TMO and other grain depots previously.

The recent explosion was stated to be the largest at TMO, the authorities revealed. The prosecutor’s office has started to carry out a detailed analysis of all security cameras located at the port, which operates 24/7.

Additionally, the authorities reported that there are ventilation and dust collection systems in the storage area and that they were working actively during the incident, adding that technical personnel check the systems every two hours.

On the question of whether the explosion at the port, where security measures are at the highest level, could have been intervened from the inside, TMO General Manager Ahmet Güldal stated that an evaluation will be made without ignoring the possibility of internal misconduct or sabotage.

A statement by the Presidential Communications Directorate said that, according to the initial examinations, some 20% of the storage was damaged and the explosion damaged 13 of 60 silos.