One of three people injured in an explosion at Intel's plant in Kiryat Gat was pronounced dead Wednesday evening at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. The victim, a gas technician at Intel, had arrived at the hospital in critical condition, while the other two sustained serious injuries.
The explosion in Kiryat Gat
(Credit: Fire and Rescue Authority)
Soroka Medical Center said in a statement: "Unfortunately, the victim who was evacuated to Soroka's emergency trauma unit in critical condition Wednesday afternoon following the explosion at the Kiryat Gat plant has died of his injuries despite the medical teams' efforts. We extend our condolences to the family. The two other victims remain hospitalized in serious condition in the medical intensive care unit."
The three were evacuated following the explosion at the technology giant's plant, which is suspected to have been caused by a gas cylinder exploding as trucks were being unloaded.
Paramedics Yuval Elias and Moed Alamor and emergency medical technicians Aviad Benhamou and Ido Navon described the scene: "It was a serious incident involving three workers who suffered severe burns while on the job. Two of them had no pulse and were not breathing."
Explosion at Intel plant in Kiryat Gat
(Photo: According to Section 27A of the Copyright Law)
The explosion sparked a fire that has since been extinguished. During the incident, nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃), a nonflammable but toxic gas that is dangerous when inhaled, leaked at the site. Hazardous materials teams conducted ongoing monitoring and risk assessments to evaluate the dangers posed by the substance's involvement in the incident. Concerns about a threat to local residents were subsequently lifted.
Chief Superintendent Shai Elali, commander of the Kiryat Gat police station, said at the scene: "At this point, I cannot say whether there is any suspicion of criminal activity or negligence. We understand that one truck was unloading material into tanks at the plant. After it disconnected and a second truck was connected, the explosion occurred. We understand that there was a malfunction."