Two Dead in Intel Factory Gas Tank Explosion, Company Criticized for Lack of Transparency

Two workers were killed and a third critically injured in an explosion involving a gas tank at Intel's chip factory in Kiryat Gat on Thursday afternoon. The incident occurred when a gas tank reportedly exploded while being unloaded from a truck in a parking area where various gas cylinders are stored. The explosion ignited a fire, creating a large plume of black smoke. The victims, both Intel employees, succumbed to their injuries at Soroka Hospital, while the third injured worker remains in intensive care.

Emergency services and local authorities, including the police, fire department, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, responded to the scene. The police have ruled out foul play and are focusing on a technical malfunction. Intel's safety teams, with international management oversight, are conducting an internal investigation, but have not yet released their findings or a cause for the accident. The company remained silent for over 24 hours after the incident, issuing only a statement of mourning on Friday afternoon, which drew public criticism for its lack of transparency regarding the unfolding events and the condition of its employees.

This is not the first fatal incident at the Kiryat Gat facility. In 2007, an American engineer died at the site, followed by a worker in 2008. More recently, in 2024, three people were injured when a crane collapsed, and in 2025, a worker died while working on a lift platform. The current investigation involves the police, the Ministry of Labor, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, who are collecting testimonies and reviewing surveillance footage.

The explosion involved nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃), a non-flammable but oxidizing gas used globally in chip manufacturing for cleaning deposition chambers. The gas likely reacted with another substance, causing it to ignite and produce the smoke. While Intel is cooperating with authorities, critics, including the workers' rights organization Kav Laoved, are calling for greater transparency regarding the investigation's findings, especially given Intel's status as a publicly funded company. Kav Laoved noted that these two deaths bring the total number of industrial fatalities in Israel to 16 this year.