Vizag Steel plant blast toll mounts to 11; eight critical

Visakhapatnam: The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday ordered an inquiry in the explosion at the state-owned steel plant here which claimed 11 lives and left eight others critically injured including General Manager V Kalsi.

The explosion occurred at the oxygen control unit near Steel Melting Shop-II at the plant of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) on Wednesday night.

Expressing anguish over the incident, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy directed the authorities concerned to conduct an inquiry under the Factories Act and submit a report immediately.

The joint chief inspector of factories will conduct the inquiry while the Director of Factories will also take stock of the situation, according to Information and Public Relations Commissioner RV Chandravadan.

"A committee is also being constituted to examine and probe the incident which resulted in the death of 11 persons and left eight injured," the Commissioner said.

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Speaking to PTI after visiting the blast site, District Collector Lav Agarwal said the condition of some of the injured, who received 90 per cent burns in the blaze caused after the explosion is, critical.

Among the critically injured are Visakhapatnam Steel Plant General Manager (Projects) D Kalsi, Assistant General Managers LAS Rao, Ranjan Bhattacharya and MBRS Sarma, Senior Manager K Srinivasa Rao and three foremen who are battling for life at a corporate hospital here.

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"The work was in progress at oxygen limiting well located in a concrete building where six employees of the plant were engaged for the job. They all were killed at the spot due to the blast and huge fire that occurred," a CISF official said.

"Eleven employees outside, including V Kalsi (GM Project), sustained serious injuries and they were immediately shifted to hospital by a CISF quick reaction team and the fire wing personnel," the official said.

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The official said the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which guards the installation, was earlier asked by Mr Kalsi to be present at the spot as they could be needed in case of any emergency like fire or other related disaster.

"Because the CISF team was on the spot many lives were saved as they were taken away for quick medical aid. The bodies have been badly burnt and efforts are being made to identify them," the official said.

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A technical problem at the unit was suspected to be the cause of the mishap. Sources said the explosion could have been caused due to abnormal build-up of pressure in the unit.

When asked about the cause of the incident, the Collector said it will be known only after an inquiry is completed.

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"It is natural to have an inquiry into major incidents like these," he said without elaborating.

According to steel plant sources, a heavy pressure build-up at Oxygen Control Unit might have caused the blast as the gas from the newly-commissioned converter backfired setting off a reaction.

The Chief Minister will visit Visakhapatnam on Thursday evening to meet those injured in the blast.

Leader of Opposition and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu also expressed grief over the accident and will be visiting the port city to meet those injured.