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As death toll rises, Morowali blast brings work safety squarely into focus
As the police revise the death toll from the Morowali nickel smelter furnace explosion on Christmas Day, the government is increasing scrutiny of work safety amid calls for regular audits.
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This aerial picture taken on May 14, 2023 shows a general view of PT. Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), one of the biggest nickel producers in North Konawe, Central Sulawesi. (AFP/Riza Salman)
A
n explosion at a nickel processing plant in Morowali, Central Sulawesi over Christmas weekend has renewed industry-wide work safety concerns and attracted public scrutiny, the latest in a string of life-threatening incidents to occur in a much-vaunted collaboration between Indonesia and China.
At least 10 Indonesians and eight Chinese workers were killed and 41 others injured in an explosion early on Sunday at a smelter furnace owned by PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS), a spokesperson for the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) said on Tuesday.
The police also revised the death toll up from 13 to 18.
ITSS operates as one of the tenants at the IMIP, the world’s nickel production epicenter, which is co-owned by China’s Tsingshan Holding Group and the Bintang Delapan Group, one of the largest mining companies in Indonesia.
The industrial park is a hub for Indonesian nickel production, a base metal used for electric vehicle (EV) batteries and stainless steel, propped up primarily by Chinese investments.
The explosion occurred at around dawn on Sunday, when workers were installing plates and doing repairs on the furnace. It appears to have been caused by residual slag from the bottom of the furnace coming into contact with flammable materials around the site.
According to the investigation, this first discharge triggered the explosion of several oxygen cylinders that are used for welding and cutting furnace components for the repair.
