By RIA Novosti
Ankara : An explosion at a fireworks factory in Turkey’s largest city Istanbul on Thursday left 17 dead and 68 injured, local media said.
The blast went off at 9.45 a.m. local time (7.45 a.m. GMT) in the industrial Davutpasha district, in Maltepe, which houses shops and factory outlets.
Eight of the injured are in a critical condition. People are still being pulled out from the debris of the collapsed five-story building. The number of victims could rise, doctors said.
Istanbul’s Governor Muammer Guler denied information that the blast was a terror attack saying: “The accident was caused by a fireworks explosion in an illegal fireworks factory.” Most of the victims were factory workers.
The powerful explosion shattered windows and damaged three nearby houses. Fire engulfed a parking lot destroying a large number of cars. Eight people were killed at the scene.
Rescuers, firefighters and ambulances are involved in the operation.