Death toll rises to 18 in furnace explosion at Chinese-owned nickel plant in Indonesia

By MOHAMMAD TAUFAN
Associated Press

PALU, Indonesia (AP) — The death toll following the explosion of a smelting furnace at a Chinese-owned nickel plant on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island has risen to 18. Police have ordered the plant to stop operations until an investigation into the incident is completed. The accident, which occurred on Sunday, was the latest in a series of deadly incidents at nickel smelting plants in Indonesia that are part of China’s ambitious transnational development program known as the Belt and Road Initiative. Nickel is a key component in global battery production for electric vehicles. Two more workers died on Tuesday at the hospital, bringing the total number of fatalities to 18, including eight workers from China.