An electric short at a sugar factory in Tanzania on Thursday morning set off an explosion that tragically claimed the lives of 11 workers, including three foreign nationals. The incident occurred at the privately owned Mtibwa Sugar Factory in the Morogoro region in eastern Tanzania.
According to regional police chief Alex Mkama, the electrical fault caused a steam pipe to burst as a technical team was preparing machines to start production for the day. The three foreigners who lost their lives were from neighboring Kenya, Brazil, and India. Additionally, two other workers were injured in the blast and were promptly treated at the Morogoro hospital. They were later rushed to the capital, Dodoma, for further medical attention.
Mtibwa Sugar Factory is one of Tanzania’s major sugar-producing facilities, churning out at least 70,000 metric tons of sugar annually, according to government data.