Two Dead After Explosion and Gas Leak at Intel Plant in Israel
Two workers are dead following an industrial explosion at Intel’s Kiryat Gat facility in southern Israel, with a third employee remaining hospitalized in serious condition in the intensive care unit at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.
A Growing Toll at the Manufacturing Site
The death toll rose on Thursday after a 49-year-old man succumbed to multiple injuries sustained in the blast, according to SOURCE 3. A gas technician at the facility was pronounced dead on Wednesday after being critically injured in the initial explosion. A third victim, a man in his 20s, remains sedated and on a ventilator in Soroka’s medical intensive care unit.
Fire Teams Monitor Toxic Nitrogen Trifluoride Leak
Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services deployed eight firefighting and rescue teams, including specialized hazardous materials units, to the site after receiving an incident report at 14:12 local time on Wednesday, SOURCE 4 reported.
Authorities confirmed that the blast involved a gas cylinder containing nitrogen trifluoride, or NF3, a non-flammable specialty gas with oxidizing properties used in semiconductor processing. Hazardous materials teams conducted continuous monitoring and risk assessments to evaluate the danger posed by a toxic chemical leak and fire at the plant.
Mayor Warns Residents to Avoid Blast Area
Kiryat Gat Mayor Kfir Swisa warned residents not to approach the area immediately following the incident. Police later confirmed that the threat to nearby residents had been removed after the fire was completely extinguished.
Truck Unloading and the Search for Answers
Police suspect the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder that detonated during the unloading of trucks at the southern Israeli manufacturing site.
Kiryat Gat police commander Shai Aleli told reporters at the scene that investigators had yet to determine whether criminal activity or negligence was involved in the incident. According to police accounts, one truck had completed unloading material into tanks at the factory, and the explosion occurred after it disconnected and a second truck connected.
The precise stage at which the blast took place remains unclear, though an unusual malfunction is suspected. The facility, also known as Fab 28 or Fab 38, is one of Intel’s key manufacturing sites supporting the company’s global semiconductor production.