Two workers have died following an explosion at Intel’s Kiryat Gat chipmaking site in southern Israel, with another seriously injured.
According to Data Center Dynamics the blast occurred on 14 October, with police investigating a suspected gas cylinder malfunction during unloading operations at the facility. All three workers suffered burns, with the surviving casualty remaining sedated and on a ventilator, according to Soroka Medical Centre.
Chipzilla has since issued a statement acknowledging the deaths and confirming that it is cooperating with authorities investigating the incident.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of two workers following the tragic incident at our Kiryat Gat site,” the company told Data Center Dynamics.
The company said it was supporting those affected and their families and expressed hope for the injured worker’s recovery.
Fire and rescue officials identified nitrogen trifluoride, known as NF3, as the gas involved in the incident. Semiconductor manufacturers use it mainly to clean process chambers, and its toxicity requires specialist handling and emergency precautions.
The gas is non-flammable but oxidising, a distinction that does not explain what caused the explosion. Investigators have yet to confirm the precise failure behind the blast.
Kiryat Gat houses Fab 28, which manufactures chips using Intel’s 7 nm process, previously known as 10nm Enhanced SuperFin.
Intel 7 is used for products including Raptor Lake processors and Emerald Rapids Xeons, although the report does not identify which products were affected and if production continued as normal afterwards.
The adjacent Fab 38 expansion remains a separate project, with work paused since mid-2024 after its December 2023 announcement.
