Explosion rocks Turkish port Derince

An explosion went off in Turkey’s port of Derince as grain was loaded from a grain elevator to a ship, CNN Turk reports.

Ten people were injured, local authorities say, two of them were severely wounded.

Derince mayor Zeki Aygün spoke to CNN Turk: “There was an earthquake with a lot of noise, then we learned about the explosion with a radius of 25 meters. The incident is serious, but localised. Wheat is being unloaded by excavators, whether there is someone under it or not, it is now being checked. There are about 40 silos here, two of them exploded,” he said.

CNN Turk reporters say a heavy explosion went off at 14:40 local time, audible from anywhere in the city of Gölcük. Response teams have arrived at the scene.

“One of the bunkers with wheat exploded. Preliminary indications are that it happened while the wheat was being loaded to a ship. It was reported that a grain silo was the reason behind the explosion. It is unknown whether there was any periodic maintenance at the facility. The authorities have not yet made a statement whether it has something to do with gas,” the TV channel’s reporter said while live on air.