Türkiye: explosion at a grain warehouse in the port of Derince

In the Turkish port of Derince, in the warehouse of the Turkish Grain Council, an explosion occurred, as a result of which 13 out of 16 grain terminals located there were damaged. 12 people were injured. This was announced by the mayor of the city of Kocaeli, Tahir Buyukakyn, on the air of the Habertürk TV channel.

According to local media, the incident occurred today at about 14:40 local time, the reasons are still being established.

Kocaeli'nin Derince ilçesinde Toprak Mahsulleri Ofisi'nin silolarının bulunduğu yerde patlama oldu. Olay anı ise güvenlik kameralarına yansıdı https://t.co/8uEXupAl9L pic.twitter.com/uCF4TJc9Rf

— CNN TÜRK (@cnnturk) August 7, 2023

CNN TÜRK reporter Hasret Kaya, who reported the first information, said live: “I heard that one of the wheat storage bunkers exploded. Presumably it happened at the moment when the ship was loading wheat in this place.”

According to initial reports, the incident occurred in the grain loading area and, according to local residents, was comparable in intensity to an “earthquake”. The force of the explosion was so powerful that it was felt throughout the city, according to the Daily Sabah. According to witnesses, dense clouds of smoke and dust covered the surrounding area.

🚨A violent explosion has occurred in Kocaeli's Derince Port.pic.twitter.com/Ya5whP2jKW

— 𝕏NANCY𝕏 (@9NewsNancy) August 7, 2023

The cause of the explosion in the port of Kocaeli, in the Derince region, is still unknown: residents report that their windows are broken, and video footage shows thick black smoke.

“According to initial estimates, the explosion occurred due to self-ignition of grain dust during the transfer of wheat from the vessel to the elevator, but we are investigating all possible causes,” Yavuz said. According to him, two victims are being treated in serious condition. The Turkish Transport Ministry said no ships were damaged in the explosion. According to the mayor of Kotjaeli, the negligence of the staff could also be the reason.

On some Ukrainian TG channels considerthat the cause of the explosion could be shells or bombs that they forgot to unload, since this ship had previously transported weapons to Ukraine.

What could be the reasons for such an explosion, expert opinion:

• Grain dust is generated due to friction during grain handling and storage. It contains the smallest particles of straw, ears of corn, weeds, germs and flakes of grains;
• such dust instantly ignites when the temperature rises and when even one spark hits;
• in a dry room with poor ventilation, the probability of an explosion of grain dust increases;
• in the case of the Turkish port, we can talk about the human factor: either a spark appeared during the work of the port employees, or a person decided to smoke nearby.

It should be noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan plan to hold talks at the end of this month on a grain deal that was canceled a few weeks ago.

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