Turkey: 2 dead, 73 injured in fireworks factory blasts

SAKARYA, TURKEY - JULY 03: At least two people died and 73 others injured in ongoing explosions at a fireworks factory in northwestern Turkey, the country's health minister, Fahrettin Koca said on Friday (July 3). Earlier the day, Sakarya Governor Cetin Oktay Kaldirim told Anadolu Agency that the injured have been taken to local hospitals. The blasts are taking place in the province’s Hendek district, at a factory employing some 150-200 people. Safety and health teams were dispatched to the site, Kaldirim said. “All security measures were taken around the factory. Since it is a fireworks factory, and the explosions continue, we cannot intervene at the moment,” he added. A huge plume of smoke could be seen rising from the factory from surrounding areas. Three Cabinet members also proceeded to the scene of the blasts: Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, and Family, Labor and Social Services Minister Zehra Zumrut Selcuk. (Footage by Stringer-Omer Faruk Cebeci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)