11 dead in explosion at one of Tanzania’s largest factories
Eleven people were killed and two others injured Thursday following an explosion at a large sugar factory in eastern Tanzania, according to police.
Tanzanian media reported that the explosion occurred in the control room where participants were conducting tests on a newly installed heating system for sugar production.
The Metibwa sugar factory in Turiani, Morogoro region, is one of the largest factories in the agricultural country located in East Africa.
According to Alex Makama, the police chief in the region where the incident occurred, the victims are eight Tanzanian technicians and three foreigners from Kenya, India, and Brazil.
Makama added, “We will be able to provide the exact cause after the investigation, but according to preliminary information, there was a leak in a steam pipe, causing the explosion.”
Shabani Marogogo, head of the local fire department, said a fitting broke in a steam pipe connecting a boiler to a turbine.
He added that “the factory’s control room and other machinery were damaged by the incident.”
