Zahra Hosseini was operating a plastic injection machine when her headscarf was reportedly caught in the equipment. She has become the 91st child worker to be killed this year.
A 17-year-old Afghan refugee working in an industrial zone in Karaman, central Turkey, died after her headscarf became entangled in machinery, according to reports from local authorities and labor rights groups.
The incident occurred at a cold storage facility located in the Karaman Organized Industrial Zone. The worker, identified as Zahra Hosseini, was operating a plastic injection machine when her headscarf was reportedly caught in the equipment.
Other workers at the facility alerted emergency services upon noticing the accident. Medical teams and police were dispatched to the scene.
Hosseini, who was seriously injured, was transported to Karaman Training and Research Hospital. Despite medical efforts, she was pronounced dead.
An investigation into the incident has been launched.
The Health and Safety Labor Watch (İSİG) Assembly reported Hosseini's death as the 91st case of the work-related fatality of a child this year. According to the group, at least 770 children have died in work-related incidents in Turkey over the past 12 years.
A recent report by the Education Reform Initiative (ERG), titled "Education Monitoring Report 2025," stated that one in four children aged 15 to 17 in Turkey is currently employed -- a rate described as the highest in the past decade.