Several injured in explosion at Turkish fireworks factory

A loud blast rocked a fireworks factory in the northwestern Turkish province of Sakarya Friday morning. The explosion, of which the cause is not yet known, sent an enormous plume of smoke into the sky.

The noise of the explosion in the district of Hendek was heard throughout central Sakarya, 50 kilometers away from the scene, sending people into streets in panic. Ambulances and firefighters were dispatched to the scene. There is no word yet on casualties, according to Turkish media. 

Hendek Mayor Turgut Babaoğlu told reporters that there were about 150 workers inside. Sakarya Governor Çetin Oktay Kaldırım told Anadolu Agency (AA) that crews were unable to intervene in the incident due to ongoing explosions, but they secured the perimeter of the factory. The governor said ten people were transferred to hospitals, and ten others managed to escape the explosion uninjured.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca and Minister of Family, Labor and Social Services Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk traveled to Sakarya to monitor the situation.

Turkish Red Crescent head urged residents living nearby the explosion area to remain indoors, shut windows over possible chemical gas release. Explosions hit the same facility in 2009, 2011 and 2014 that killed three workers.