Fire breaks out at Indonesia nickel hub, three injured

A fire broke out on Sunday at a facility in Indonesia’s Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), the country’s largest nickel processing facility, which injured three workers, an official said.

The fire affected a scrubber tower at one of IMIP’s tenants, IMIP spokesperson Dedy Kurniawan said in a text message, adding that it may have been caused by sparks from welding activities.

“Three employees suffered minor injuries. The investigation (on the cause of the fire) is still ongoing,” Dedy said.

Operations at IMIP were running normally as the incident affected the premises of only one tenant which was under construction.

Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of nickel, but its processing industry often experiences fire incidents, including a fatal blaze in December 2023.

(By Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Bernadette Baum)