Ninth worker death in Erbil this year
Foreign worker dies in factory incident
ERBIL — An Indian worker died in an accident at a rebar factory in Erbil on Tuesday night, with three others injured, authorities said.
The incident occurred on the Erbil-Gwer Road near the village of Lajan, where the factory is situated opposite the village.
Hassan Ramadan, head of the Erbil Workers’ Syndicate, told 964media that the deceased worker’s body had been transferred to the Erbil Forensic Medicine Department. “We plan to repatriate his body through the Indian Consulate,” Ramadan said.
The accident was caused by an explosion of iron and materials within the factory, according to Ramadan.
This year, nine workers have died in various incidents in Erbil.
From January to April 28, 2024, the Kurdistan Construction Workers’ Organization documented 19 worker deaths in the Kurdistan Region, including one additional fatality in the Kirkuk governorate. In Erbil alone, the count reached nine. The fatalities included eight in Sulaymaniyah and two in Duhok.
The organization attributed these deaths to a lack of basic safety standards at workplaces, inadequate protective equipment, and insufficient safety training provided by employers.
Common causes of death included electrocution, building collapses, falls from heights, machinery-related accidents, and severe bleeding.
In 2023, the Kurdistan Workers’ Union reported a total of 53 worker deaths, comprising 39 local workers and 14 foreign nationals, an increase from 41 deaths in 2022.
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