The death toll from a fire at a nickel smelter owned by a Chinese company on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island reached 18 on Tuesday, according to the industrial park where the smelter is located.
Ten Indonesian workers and eight Chinese workers were killed by the fire that occurred at a furnace in the nickel smelter operated by Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel in Central Sulawesi Province, a spokesman for the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park said.
The provincial police have instructed ITSS to halt operations at the nickel smelter until the investigation is complete. Tsingshan Holding Group, a prominent Chinese stainless steelmaker, holds a majority stake in ITSS.
IMIP is a nickel-focused industrial park owned by the Tsingshan group and its Indonesian partner, Bintang Delapan Group, which produces stainless steel and carbon steel.
The fire adds to a series of accidents that have occurred in Indonesia's nickel processing industry in recent years.
Indonesia, the world's largest nickel producer, has implemented a ban on the export of unprocessed nickel ore since 2020, aiming to increase the export value of this crucial resource.
