A 49-year-old man who was seriously injured in Wednesday's explosion at the Intel plant in Kiryat Gat has died, Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva announced Thursday morning.
A gas technician at Intel who arrived at the hospital in critical condition died of his injuries on Wednesday. Another victim, a man in his 20s, remains hospitalized in serious condition.
The Israel Fire and Rescue Authority reported that the incident involved the toxic gas nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃), which is nonflammable but has oxidizing properties and is hazardous when inhaled.
"Hazardous materials teams conducted continuous monitoring and risk assessments to evaluate the dangers arising from the involvement of the substance in the incident," the Fire and Rescue Authority stated.
Shai Elali, commander of the Kiryat Gat Police Station, said at the scene: "At this stage, I cannot point to any suspicion of criminal activity or negligence. We understand that one truck was unloading material into tanks at the plant. After it disconnected and a second truck connected, the explosion occurred. We understand that there was a malfunction."
"The scene at the plant is still being cooled to prevent another incident. Professionals are examining the situation to determine whether there is an additional leak. As of now, we have received no indication of one, and the scene appears to be under control. The tanks were cooled, and we managed the incident together with Fire and Rescue Services and other agencies. Throughout the response, there was no need to evacuate residents of Kiryat Gat or workers from the plant."