Explosion at Turkish Oil Refinery Injures 12 in Izmit

An explosion followed by a fire injured 12 workers on November 5 at an oil refinery in Izmit, northwestern Turkey. The facility, managed by Tüpras, reported that all injured personnel were promptly taken to a nearby hospital for medical attention, while on-site responders quickly managed to control the fire.

According to a statement from Tüpras, the explosion occurred around 13:30 local time during maintenance work on a compressor. The refinery’s emergency team swiftly responded to alarms and contained the fire within a few hours.

All 12 injured workers sustained minor injuries and are expected to fully recover after treatment. The section of the refinery where the explosion took place had been closed for scheduled maintenance and will remain shut until a thorough investigation is complete. Operations across other areas of the refinery continue unaffected.

The Izmit facility, located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Istanbul, is one of Turkey’s largest refineries with a processing capacity of roughly 11 million tons per year.

Image credit: Tupras. All rights reserved.