Indonesia probes deadly blast at Chinese-owned nickel plant that killed 18 workers, including 8 Chinese employees
- Indonesian police instructed a nickel-processing facility linked to Chinese metals giant Tsingshan to halt operations until their investigation is complete
- This was the third deadly accident this year at Chinese-owned nickel smelting plants in Central Sulawesi province, which has Indonesia’s largest nickel reserves
A nickel-processing facility in Indonesia linked to Chinese metals giant Tsingshan Holding Group has halted operations as police investigate an explosion that left 18 workers dead.
Ten Indonesian workers and eight Chinese workers were killed in the accident.
PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel, or ITSS, stopped operations after the blast early Sunday at a furnace in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, a representative of the park said. ITSS is under investigation, said Morowali police chief Suprianto, who uses a single name.
ITSS is 50 per cent owned by Tsingshan Holding Group, which spearheaded the expansion of Indonesia’s nickel industry in the past decade, building plants that process ore and use it to make stainless steel or battery-grade chemicals. The incident was at a blast furnace which produces a semi-processed form of nickel.
The park’s representative said other businesses at the site – which hosts 52 companies – were operating normally. The latest number of deaths was confirmed by police chief Suprianto on Tuesday.