The expert report on the fireworks factory blast that killed seven people and injured 127 others in the Hendek district of northwestern Turkey's Sakarya on July 3 has been finalized, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported Monday.
The report found that the factory did not abide by the legal safety requirements to prevent such accidents and necessary records of permits were nowhere to be found.
The 200-page report, prepared to determine the number, strength and frequency of the explosions, has been sent to the Hendek Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The report said that four explosions took place, lasting a total of 1 minute and 54 seconds, according to data gathered from the seismograph at Sakarya University.
It added that the detonation of 5,700 kilograms (6.3 tons) of display shells, equal to 13,396 kilograms of TNT, created a 19-meter crater (nearly 21 yards); 4,082 kilograms of display shells, equal to 9,595 kilograms of TNT, created a 17-meter crater; 1,106 kilograms of display shells, equal to 2,599 kilograms of TNT, made an 11-meter crater; 831 kilograms of display shells, equal to 1,953 kilograms of TNT, formed a 10-meter crater; 53 kilograms of display shells, equal to 125 kilograms of TNT, carved a 4-meter crater; and 853 kilograms of display shells, equal to 1,953 kilograms of TNT, created a crater 10-meter in diameter.
The report also said that the total area of the factory was 2,400 square meters (25,833 square feet) and there were 6 metric tons of explosives per depot.
The explosions sent an enormous plume of smoke into the sky.
The noise of the explosion was heard throughout central Sakarya, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) away from the scene, sending people into the streets in panic. Ambulances and firefighters were dispatched to the scene.
Hendek Mayor Turgut Babaoğlu told reporters that there were about 150 workers inside. Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca and Family, Labor and Social Services Minister Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk all traveled to Sakarya to monitor the situation.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that every necessary measure was in place and the population near the site of the explosion was protected.
A week later, three soldiers were killed and six others were injured in another explosion that occurred while transporting the remaining fireworks from the Hendek factory to a quarry for disposal.
In 2008, 20 people were killed in another explosion in a fireworks factory in Istanbul, west of Sakarya.
