ISTANBUL, Aug 7 13 out of 16 elevators were damaged by the Sea of Marmara, Mayor of Kocaeli Tahir Buyukakyn said on the air of the Habertürk TV channel.
“As a result of the explosion, 12 people were injured,” he added.
Two of them are in serious condition, Buyukakyn specified.
The incident took place this afternoon in the grain loading area of ships in the elevators owned by the Turkish Grain Council (TMO) in the port of Derince.
The explosion did not damage the container part of the port, firefighters and an ambulance were pulled into place.
The Governor of Kocaeli Province, Seddar Yavuz, called the preliminary cause of the incident an explosion of grain dust due to its compression when loading the ship. In turn, the mayor of Derince, Zeki Aygun, said that the incident could have happened due to negligence, but stressed that experts would determine the exact cause of the explosion.
According to a source in the Safiport port operator, the incident did not affect the operation of the harbor.< br>