National

PT OSS Smelter Furnace Explodes in Konawe, No Casualties

Stateline MEDIA Newsroom•October 18, 2026•2 min read

A furnace at Smelter 1 of PT Obsidian Stainless Steel (OSS) in Morosi District, Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, exploded on Saturday, 17 October 2026, at around 17.55 WITA. No fatalities or injuries were reported; the suspected cause is a blockage in the furnace piping. The affected area has been secured and sterilized while the exact cause is still being investigated.

Key Facts

A furnace at Smelter 1 of PT Obsidian Stainless Steel (OSS) in Morosi District, Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, exploded on Saturday, 17 October 2026, at around 17.55 WITA.
No deaths or injuries were reported in the incident, according to initial police reports. The suspected cause is a blockage in the furnace piping, though the company is still investigating the exact cause.
Bondoala Police Station acting chief First Inspector I Putu Hartawan confirmed the incident. The affected area has been secured and sterilized by the management of Smelter 1 PT OSS to prevent further hazards.

Afternoon Explosion at Smelter 1

An explosion struck the Smelter 1 furnace area of PT Obsidian Stainless Steel (OSS) in Morosi District, Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, on Saturday, 17 October 2026, at around 17.55 WITA.

The incident briefly triggered an emergency at the smelter site. However, initial reports confirmed there were no fatalities or injuries from the explosion.

The acting chief of the Bondoala Police Station, First Inspector I Putu Hartawan, confirmed to journalists that an explosion had occurred at the company's Smelter 1 furnace. He said the company is still examining the site to determine the cause.

Suspected Pipe Blockage; Heat Hampers Inspection

Initial information suggests the blast was triggered by a blockage in the smelter furnace piping. The exact cause is still being examined by the company.

According to Hartawan, the high temperature around the Smelter 1 area is one of the obstacles to the initial on-site inspection. Company management must consider temperature conditions and personnel safety before inspecting the damaged furnace further.

Area Sterilized; Operational Impact Unknown

Meanwhile, the affected area has been secured and sterilized by the management of Smelter 1 PT OSS to prevent further hazards. The measure is intended to ensure no workers or other parties enter the risk zone while the examination continues.

There is still no further information on the extent of facility damage or the incident's impact on the smelter's operations. Police confirmed that the definitive cause of the explosion awaits the company's technical examination results.