Vizag Steel Plant Mishap Kills 8, Injures 6
Hot metal buckets collapse in SMS-2 unit; molten steel spill triggers fire, rescue efforts underway
Visakhapatnam: In one of the worst industrial disasters in the state, eight workers have died and six others were seriously hurt when 150 tonnes of molten steel blew up in the ladle in Steel Melting Shop-2 of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) on Monday evening.
“The tragedy occurred while employees and contract workers were on duty in the Steel Melting Station-2 section,” an official release said.
The release from the steel ministry said, “At about 4.15 pm, Caster-2 of Steel Melt Shop-1 at VSP was under casting. Before the slide gate was opened to pour hot crude steel from the ladle to the tundish, which would eventually have gone to the caster, a sudden and severe explosion occurred.”
“A large ball of fire rose to the ceiling, and the overhead crane-2 caught fire. Eight persons died and six more were injured.”
RINL is investigating the accident. A three-member external inquiry committee, led by the director-in-charge of Bokaro Steel Plant under SAIL, has been assigned to investigate the accident.
Joint chief of factories Siva Sankar Reddy told Deccan Chronicle that there was no negligence of the management with regard to safety and maintenance aspects. Eyewitnesses said the molten metal, at a temperature of around 1,500 degrees Celsius, engulfed the work area, leaving workers with little time to escape.
The bodies were shifted to steel plant general hospital and the six injured shifted to the city corporate hospital for treatment. Officials feared that the death toll could rise as some of the injured were in critical conditions.
Fire and rescue personnel rushed to the scene and launched efforts to contain the blaze and prevent further damage. The affected section was evacuated as a precautionary measure.
The dead were Ginthina Bhanu Kumar, G.V. Appa Rao, M. Krishna, K. Prabhakar, G. Kumar - all regular workers. Ramana, Trinadh and N. Appala Raju, all contract workers. The injured were R. Mallikarjuna Rao, P. Srinu, Arjuna Appa Rao, Satyanand, Pydiraju and Suribabu.
Union steel minister H.D. Kumara Swamy said the seriously injured were shifted to city hospitals by air ambulance and that he would visit the plant shortly.
