Vishakhapatnam:
With a senior officer succumbing to injuries, the death toll in Wednesday's explosion at the state-owned plant of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) in Vishakhapatnam rose to 12 today.
K Srinivas, Senior Manager of the SMS Department, succumbed on Friday morning at the hospital, company sources said.
The explosion had occurred at the 'oxygen control unit' near the Steel Melting Shop-II at the plant on Wednesday night.
Some senior members of the managerial staff, along with workers, were among the victims.
The deceased include Deputy General Manager (Construction) L Srihari and Deputy General Manager (instrumentation) P V Karunakar.
General Manager (Projects) D S Kalsi and Assistant General Manager (SMS) M B R S Sarma, who were critically injured, have been shifted to Mumbai.
A total of seven people are still undergoing treatment.
Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma ordered a high-level inquiry into the mishap on Thursday.