Istanbul - At least four people died and 97 were injured on
Friday following several major blasts and a fire at a fireworks
factory in north-western Turkey, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.
Several people may still be trapped inside, Koca said, without giving
an exact figure.
The factory has 186 employees in total, although 20 did not show up
for work earlier. Some "15-20" workers are believed to have left the
area after the fire began, Koca told reporters near the site in
Sakarya, to the east of Istanbul.
Authorities were trying to track down all those who were unaccounted
for, he said.
Two helicopters and a plane joined efforts to contain the fire, Koca
said, warning residents in the area to wear masks and stay inside to
reduce the risk of inhaling toxic smoke.
An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the
incident.
The factory, the largest such plant in Turkey, has 110 tons of
explosives in its depots, Sakarya Governor Cetin Oktay Kaldirim said
earlier.
Explosions could be heard from as far as 30 kilometres away, the
governor said, speaking near a road leading to the factory as fire
trucks and ambulances passed by. Residential areas are located 3
kilometres away.
Three massive blasts were heard at the factory at 11:10 am (0810
GMT), state broadcaster state broadcaster TRT said.
Drone footage on TRT showed the flames were largely under control,
six hours after the blasts.