The death toll in the Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) explosion rose to 11 on Wednesday after two more employees succumbed to injuries at a hospital. The two were among the 14 who were critically injured on Tuesday when a gas pipeline exploded at the plant located in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district.
The explosion had immediately killed six people. Three more died later in the day. Six of those who died worked in the plant’s energy management department, while three were employees of its fire brigade unit.
All the injured were brought to the burns unit of the Jawahar Lal Nehru Hospital in Bhilai for treatment yesterday.
A BSP official said that the two who died today had received over 80 per cent burns.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh will be visiting the plant and the hospital to meet the injured and families of the victims today. Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh will be accompanying the CM.
The government said that a four-member high-level committee was constituted by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), which operates the plant, to probe the incident.
Inspector General of Police (Durg Range) GP Singh had said earlier that after receiving the post-mortem report of the deceased, a case under the IPC Section 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) will be registered followed by an inquiry into the incident.
According to reports, the blast took place around 10.30 am in the pipeline connected to the coke oven section of the plant.
“In an unfortunate incident at around 10.30 am, today in SAIL Bhilai Steel Plant, there was a fire in gas pipe line of Coke Oven Battery Complex No 11 during a scheduled maintenance job. Some persons working at the site sustained burn injury,” Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), which operates the plant, said in a statement.
“Injured persons were immediately rushed to the BSP hospital for medical care and aid. Meanwhile, the fire has been controlled. So far, 9 persons have lost their lives and 14 are undergoing medical treatment. All resources have been mobilised to provide adequate care to the injured,” the statement read.
Police said that more than 20 employees were working at the spot when the blast happened.
In June this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had dedicated the modernised and expanded Bhilai Steel Plant to the nation.
The plant is India’s sole producer and supplier of world class rails for the Indian Railways and a major producer of a large variety of wide and heavy steel plates and structural steel.
The plant has an annual production capacity of 3.153 MT of saleable steel.
SAIL said that it “stands by the families of the affected and will ensure that and no stone is left unturned in providing all kinds of support”.
This is not the first accident at the plant. Six persons, including two deputy general managers, were killed in June 2014 due to a poisonous gas leak in the plant.