A second worker has died following Wednesday’s explosion at Intel’s chip manufacturing plant in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel. The death toll is now two. One other worker was seriously injured.
The explosion is suspected to have been caused by a gas cylinder malfunction during a material transfer. It involved nitrogen trifluoride, a toxic gas used to clean chipmaking tools.
Intel has not commented on potential production delays at the facility, one of its key manufacturing sites and an important part of its global semiconductor production. Any disruption could pose problems as the company has previously faced tight capacity for its Intel 7 process technology.
Intel is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on October 29. It is unclear whether the incident will be addressed.