Yakir Kosashvili, 35, was identified Thursday as one of the two workers killed in Wednesday's explosion at Intel's factory in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel. His identification followed the earlier naming of the other victim, Ilya Chechulin, 49, a resident of Be'er Sheva, who died of his injuries at Soroka Medical Center.
Chechulin had been evacuated from the factory in serious condition with multiple injuries. Soroka said he died despite prolonged resuscitation efforts. A third Intel employee, a man in his 20s, remains hospitalized in serious condition in the hospital's medical intensive care unit, where he is sedated and on a ventilator.
According to the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority, preliminary findings suggest the explosion resulted from a technical failure involving the neck of a tank containing approximately 8 tons of nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃), a toxic gas used in semiconductor manufacturing. Investigators described the incident as rare and said it remains unclear whether the failure resulted from wear and tear or could have been prevented.
The explosion sparked a fire and a leak of nitrogen trifluoride, a nonflammable gas that poses serious inhalation risks. Firefighters extinguished the flames and prevented the fire from spreading, while hazardous materials teams conducted monitoring and risk assessments. Authorities subsequently ruled out any continuing danger to nearby residents.
Ilya Chechulin
Kiryat Gat police commander Shai Aleli said investigators had not established whether criminal activity or negligence was involved. "At this point, I can't point to any suspicion of criminal activity or negligence," Aleli said at the scene. "We understand that one truck unloaded material into tanks at the factory. After it disconnected and a second truck connected, the explosion occurred. We understand there was a malfunction."
Intel expressed condolences to the victims' families and said it was cooperating fully with the investigation. "We are deeply saddened by the deaths of two employees following the tragic incident at our Kiryat Gat site, and extend our condolences to their families, friends and colleagues," the company said. "We wish the third injured employee a full recovery. We are cooperating fully with the authorities investigating the incident and will continue to support the families and everyone affected."
Attorney Israel Assal, legal adviser to the Forum for the Prevention of Workplace Accidents, criticized workplace safety enforcement, arguing that the disaster reflected longstanding failures by the Labor Ministry and its occupational safety administration.
"This disaster was not inevitable," Assal said, citing several fatal industrial explosions in Israel since 2018. He claimed that no indictments had been filed in the cases he listed and accused the authorities of failing to learn lessons or establish effective deterrence against workplace safety violations.
The circumstances of the Intel explosion remain under investigation, including the precise cause of the suspected equipment failure and whether it could have been prevented.