The expert's report has revealed that there were no controls nor necessary gasometrics in the TÜPRAŞ oil refinery, where an occupational murder due to a huge explosion on Oct. 11 claimed the lives of four workers.
TÜPRAŞ, Turkey's only oil refiner which is owned by Koç industrial holding company, has four refineries operating in four different cities across Turkey. Koç Holding’s net profit saw a sharp rise in the second quarter, 2017. Its second-quarter net profit rose to 1.42 billion Turkish Liras ($402.8 million) from 918.1 million liras in the same period a year earlier, it said in a statement to the Istanbul stock exchange on Aug. 18. The 54.4 percent year-on-year increase in the business group’s net profit mainly came from strong contributions of its energy and automotive companies.
Four workers were killed and two injured on October 11 due to an explosion in the western province of İzmir at the TÜPRAŞ oil refinery. The expert's report, which is prepared due to the order of prosecution office, states that gas that accumulated in a storage tank containing naphtha, caused an explosion, and because labours working at this department used sparking wire-spirals, a fire also broke out from the oil.
'The Beka Project' which undertook the maintenance work of the oil storage tanks in the refinery is most at fault for the explosion, according to the report. It also states that the field supervisor, responsible for ensuring coordination with the company, and the chief engineer responsible for technical works are also deemed guilty.
According to the report, there had been no necessary inspections nor gas measurements in the oil storage tank which had been issued a certificate of maintenance permit prior to a permit-to-work.
After the expert's report, the chief engineer Mehmet Emin Tuna, who had been previously released on condition of judicial control, was arrested again.
The prosecution office demanded another detailed report to ascertain whether negligence and predictions were forwarded to the superiors by the lower divisions at the firm.
Meanwhile, the families of four workers, who lost their lives in the occupational murder, filed a criminal complaint against those responsible for the explosion.
TKP: NOT ACCIDENT BUT MURDER
The owner of the refinery, Koç Holding tries to decline any responsibility for the explosion Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) had said after the occupational murders. "It is not technical dysfunction, but the capital's greed to make more profit," the party said in the statement.
"The maintenance needed for the storage tank was rushed and safety measures were ignored", the statement underlined. Since the workers were forced to work under these unsafe conditions, the explosion cannot be regarded as an accident. Our worker brothers were killed only because the Koç family wants to profit 2, 3 and 10 times more," it said.
