Indonesia nickel smelter furnace blast kills 13 workers, wounds 38

Thirteen workers were killed and 38 were injured on Sunday in the explosion of a nickel smelter furnace owned by Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS) on Sulawesi island, the owner of the industrial park where the smelter is located said. The blast occurred when workers repaired the furnace and installed plates at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday (2130 GMT on Saturday), killing eight Indonesian workers and five Chinese workers, Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) said in a statement. During the repairing process, an explosion occurred," an IMIP spokesperson said. IMIP is a nickel-focused industrial park owned by China's Tsingshan and its local partner Bintang Delapan Group, which produce stainless steel and carbon steel. ITSS is one of the tenants at the industrial park, IMIP said.