Explosion Inside Sugar Mill Kills 11 Employees, Injures 2 Others

• Production was to start at the Mtibwa Sugar Factory in eastern Tanzania on the evening of Wednesday, May 23, when the explosion occurred
• Sources in the factory said a major steam pipe burst, causing a fire in the plant; 11 people died on the spot, with two others critically injured
• Besides native Tanzanians, other fatalities in the explosion were nationals of Kenya, Brazil, India and China

Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Production at Mtibwa Sugar Factory has been suspended following a tragedy on the evening of Wednesday, May 22.

A heavy-duty steam pipe burst as workers prepared the mills for production, sources said.

How many died in the Tanzania factory explosion?

Morogoro Regional Fire and Rescue Commander Shaban Marugujo said the explosion occurred at 7:00 pm and killed 11 and injured two others.

Besides native Tanzanians, other fatalities included citizens from Brazil, India, China and Kenya, officials confirmed.

The victims were mainly electrical and machine technicians.

Police are probing the tragedy to establish its cause.

"It is true that 11 people died and two others were injured after the explosion of the heat ball while they were preparing for the production of sugar at the factory, it should be known that in order for the sugar to be processed there is a temperature level that must be reached now when preparations for production are being made and that temperature level while waiting, the explosion happened and found those 11 people who died on the spot at that level of heat.

"We have not yet found the real source of the explosion, but we are still continuing the investigation. The whole team has been here at the factory since that night, and until now, we are continuing. When we finish, we will issue an official statement," Marugujo was quoted by Mwananchi as saying.

All the bodies were booked into the factory's hospital morgue.

The two injured were admitted to Bwagala Mission Hospital.

Back home, an explosion was reported to have claimed lives and injured many in Kenya's capital in February this year.

Scores of people were spread in hospitals across Nairobi.

The tragedy occurred in Embakasi on the late evening of Thursday, February 1.

What caused the Embakasi inferno?

The government said the fire started after an explosion from a lorry loaded with gas cylinders at Kentainers Company Ltd near Kabansora.

In its series of updates, the state established that two people succumbed to burn injuries, with about 222 getting admitted to hospitals in the city county.

Helping with the rescue at the scene were operatives from the National Police, Nairobi county government, the Kenya Red Cross, St. John’s Ambulance and other Kenyans of goodwill.

The national government, whose agencies coordinated rescue operations from a command centre at the scene, promised to help the victims recover from the ravages of the tragedy.

Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke