On November 9, around 12:00, the industrial rhythm of Aliağa, Izmir, was violently interrupted. At the Habas Iron and Steel Factory, a facility central to the region's industrial landscape, a massive explosion tore through the site, immediately followed by a raging fire. What began as a routine period of maintenance operations transformed in a single moment into a scene of chaos and devastation. As the smoke cleared, the scale of the disaster began to emerge, revealing a catastrophe that would claim the lives of 19 people.
In the immediate aftermath of the blast, the landscape of the factory became a battlefield for emergency responders. Firefighters, health officials, and teams from AFAD—Turkey's disaster and emergency management agency—descended upon the site to battle the flames and search for survivors. The gendarmerie also arrived to secure the perimeter as the scale of the incident became clear. Amidst the frantic efforts to control the fire and stabilize the site, one name remained a source of profound anxiety for colleagues and families: Barış Güney. As the initial search and rescue efforts moved through the wreckage, Güney remained unaccounted for, a missing piece in a tragedy that was already growing in magnitude.
The uncertainty surrounding the missing worker hung heavy over the investigation. That uncertainty reached a somber conclusion on November 13. On that day, the body of Barış Güney was recovered from the site. The process of identifying the deceased was not immediate; it required the precision of science to provide the closure that the families sought. At the Izmir Forensic Medicine Institute, experts conducted DNA analysis to confirm that the recovered remains were indeed those of Güney. With this scientific confirmation, the search operations at the factory were officially terminated, but the human cost was solidified.
The identification of Barış Güney brought a grim finality to the casualty count.
The identification of Barış Güney brought a grim finality to the casualty count. With his death confirmed, the total number of workers killed in the explosion rose to 19. The number serves as a stark ledger of the disaster's impact, marking the end of the immediate search for life and the beginning of a long, difficult process of accounting for the lives lost during those maintenance operations on November 9.
As the physical fires were extinguished and the search for the missing ended, a different kind of operation began: a judicial investigation. The Menemen Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has stepped in to dissect the mechanics of the tragedy. To ensure that every aspect of the incident is examined with the necessary rigor, four public prosecutors have been appointed to lead the inquiry. This legal machinery is tasked with moving beyond the immediate wreckage to understand exactly why the explosion occurred and what failures may have led to such a high loss of life.
The investigation is not merely looking at mechanical failures, but is also turning its gaze toward the leadership of the facility. As authorities seek to clarify all aspects of the tragedy, several suspects have been named in the legal proceedings. Among those facing the scrutiny of the investigation is Habas Board Chairman Mehmet Rüştü Başaran. The legal process now moves into a phase of intense examination, as prosecutors attempt to piece together the timeline of the maintenance work and the decisions that preceded the explosion.