An explosion at a nickel-processing plant backed by China left at least 12 people dead and 39 injured in eastern Indonesia on Sunday, according to an official from the industrial park.
Unrest about working conditions at Beijing's facilities has been fueled by the country's rising investment in Sulawesi, an island rich in minerals that serves as a hub for the production of nickel, a base metal used in electric vehicle batteries and stainless steel.
A representative for the complex stated in a statement that the disaster happened at approximately 5:30 am (2130 GMT Saturday) at a plant run by PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel in the Morowali Industrial Park in Central Sulawesi province.
There are 51 victims as of right now. Twelve persons perished in the tragedy. According to spokeswoman Dedy Kurniawan, 39 persons are presently undergoing medical care for both minor and major injuries.
According to the statement, five international workers and seven Indonesians perished.
All five of the foreign workers, according to Kurniawan, were citizens of China.
According to the official, an initial inquiry revealed that the explosion occurred during furnace repair work when a combustible substance caught fire. The ensuing blast also caused adjacent oxygen tanks to explode.
The statement said that Sunday morning the fire was put out.
Fears for safety: The company in charge of the industrial park expressed its "deep sadness over this tragedy, especially for the families impacted."
It added that other victims who had been identified had had their remains flown home.
Firefighters and other personnel watched as plumes of smoke emerged from the factory in video that was provided with AFP.
The victims' bodies were arranged in a row on top of orange body bags in a room within one of the industrial complex's clinics, as shown in an image provided to AFP.
Under condition of anonymity, an employee at the industrial complex told AFP, "Their faces were burned, their clothes were all burned."
At a nickel smelting factory in the same industrial park in January, two workers—including a Chinese national—were killed after a riot broke out during a protest over pay and safety conditions.
In Indonesia, a large country home to over 250 million people where safety laws are frequently disregarded, deadly fires occur on a regular basis.
Another event that has raised concerns about safety at establishments funded and run by Chinese corporations occurred in June when a fire at the same company claimed one life and wounded six others.
Operating the facility is PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI), a regional branch of Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry in China.
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