Monday morning, 7 am. Workers had just clocked in at a steel plant in Douala when a massive explosion ripped through the factory. Four people never made it home. Sixteen more are fighting for their lives with severe burns. And this wasn't the first time.

Tragedy in Douala, Cameroon, and questions are mounting over worker safety.

According to cbinews.tv, at least four people are dead and 16 seriously injured after an explosion and fire at the Metafrique Steel plant in the Bassa Industrial Zone on Monday morning.

It happened around 7 am. Witnesses say the blast was followed by a fire that tore through the metal processing factory before emergency crews could contain it. Four bodies were recovered at the scene.

The injured, mostly factory floor workers, were rushed to Douala General Hospital. Doctors say most have burns covering large parts of their bodies and are in critical condition.

These are not just numbers. These are young Cameroonians, breadwinners, working in one of Douala’s toughest industrial jobs for modest pay. Families are now gathered outside the hospital waiting for news.

And here’s why this matters even more: This is the second fire at Metafrique Steel in six months. There was another blaze back in May.

When Littoral Region Governor Samuel Dieudonné Ivaha Diboua visited the site and the hospital, he didn’t mince words. He accused the company of failing to implement safety measures that were ordered after that May incident.

Bassa is Douala’s industrial heartland, home to over 80% of Cameroon’s manufacturing firms. But it has a chequered history of industrial accidents, often linked to poor safety compliance, outdated equipment and weak enforcement.

Cameroon’s metallurgy sector is small but critical, supplying construction steel for a booming infrastructure market. Yet labour unions have long warned that rapid expansion has come at the cost of worker protection.

The governor has announced a full investigation and says a shutdown of the plant is now on the table. For many in Douala, that question is bigger: will this finally force a nationwide audit of factory safety standards?

We’ll keep tracking this.

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