At least nine detained protesting at blast-hit Turkiye steel plant

Aliaga, Turkiye: Security forces detained nine individuals on Friday after workers protested a ban on mobile phones in a steel plant that had been struck by a deadly explosion earlier in the week, said a workers’ collective.

• The plant recently suffered a deadly explosion
• Workers gathered at the entrance to voice discontent over the phone ban

Updated 2 min 32 sec ago

November 13, 2026

17:55

Aliaga, Turkiye: Turkish security forces on Friday detained at least nine people protesting a ban on bringing mobile phones into a steel plant that was hit by a deadly explosion this week, according to a workers’ collective.

Workers arriving for their morning shift at the HABAS steel factory were ordered to leave their mobile phones at a security checkpoint, prompting them to gather at the facility’s entrance in protest, as reported by Octay Turk, spokesperson for the Aegean Workers’ Collective.

“At least nine people were detained,” Turk told AFP, adding that he was among those taken into custody at the Aliaga facility, a district renowned for shipbreaking and heavy industry near the western port city of Izmir.

The mobile‑phone prohibition was implemented by HABAS chairman Mehmet Rustu Basaran, who was placed under house arrest pending an investigation into the Monday blast.

A company notice stated that mobile phones would no longer be permitted inside the plant.

The collective claimed the policy was intended to prevent workers from photographing the interior of the facility.

Accounts described high tension, with security forces blocking access roads and deploying large numbers of personnel around the plant.

The blast occurred during a boiler‑replacement operation when an overhead crane collapsed, dropping a container of 120‑ton molten steel onto an industrial furnace. The incident killed 19 people, the Turkish Metal Workers’ Union reported, noting that a missing individual was also presumed dead.

The accident has intensified criticism of HABAS’s safety record, with workers’ groups highlighting prior safety shortcomings as contributing factors.

Of the eleven people detained as part of the investigation, a court ordered nine to remain in pre‑trial custody and placed two under house arrest, including Basaran.

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