13 foreign workers injured in steel factory explosion in Iraq's Sulaymaniyah

At least 13 foreign workers were injured on Saturday as a result of an explosion in a steel factory in Sulaymaniyah province of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, Kurdish officials told The New Arab.  

The explosion occurred at the Master Steel factory in Sulaymaniyah's industrial Tanjaro area.

Ten Indian nationals, two Iranians and one Iraqi worker were wounded as a result of the explosion, Saman Sheikh Latif, spokesperson of the general directorate of health in Sulaymaniyah told The New Arab in a phone call.

"Two of the wounded were in a critical condition and on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy following undergoing surgeries," Latif said, adding that the condition of the others was "stable".

The reason for the explosion was not yet clear, Saman Nadir, head of the emergency centre in Sulaymaniyah told TNA.

Kurdish news network Rudaw reported that the explosion occurred "as a result of old mortars and artillery shells exploding while being melted at the factory to be reused".

Lieutenant-colonel Yassin Samee, spokesperson of Sulaymaniyah security forces ruled out the report in comments to TNA.

"The explosion might have occurred as a result of gas accumulation at the factory's reactor, which is used for melting iron," he said, adding that it was too early to determine the exact cause.

Last year, a worker was killed and three others were injured in an explosion at the same factory.

Iraq relies on recycling iron and other metals to meet the country's increasing demands for construction materials.

Melting undetonated old artillery and mortars at small iron factories without proper checks by experts is very common across the country.

According to scientific research, Iraq and the northern Kurdistan region are "promising" hotspots for natural resources, including iron and uranium, but exploration and investment in the region's natural minerals have been neglected.