8 killed as molten steel spills on workers after Visakhapatnam plant blast

AT to the lowest degree octet workers were killed and half a dozen others injured when liquified nerve accidentally spilled on them from a ladle that exploded while carrying the hot metal to the casting unit in the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) on Monday, officials said.Visakhapatnam district collector M Abhishikth Kishore said the accident happened at around 4.15pm in the central government undertaking also known as Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.“Eight workers were killed and six others sustained injuries in the accident,” Kishore, who visited the accident site, told reporters.This is the worst accident at the34-year-old plant in 14 years. On June 14, 2012, 19 workers, including some officials, died in a massive explosion in the oxygen plant of the Steel Melting Shop-III unit at RINL.What happened?Union minister of state for steel Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, who was rushing to Visakhapatnam from his camp office at Bhimavaram, told reporters that the blast occurred when approximately 150 tonnes of molten steel – heated to nearly 1,500 degrees Celsius – was being transported in a ladle to machine No. 2 as part of the steel manufacturing process.It was then that the ladle exploded, resulting in spilling of hot, molten metal on the workers.The minister said eight workers died in the accident and six workers on duty near an adjacent machine sustained serious injuries.The condition of four injured workers was stable and two were critical.“Providing the best possible medical treatment to the injured is our top priority,” Varma said. He added that the government kept an air ambulance on standby to shift the injured for advanced medical care if required.The minister said the exact cause of the accident was yet to be determined.“A detailed investigation will examine whether a technical failure occurred during the transfer of molten steel through the ladle, including the possibility of snapped wires or any other mechanical malfunction that may have triggered the explosion,” he said.PM Modi announces compensationPrime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief. “Saddened by the mishap at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. Praying that the injured recover at the earliest. The local authorities are providing all possible assistance to those affected. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000,” PM Modi posted on social media platform X.According to senior employee of the Visakhapatnam steel plant and trade union leader D Adinarayana, the deceased workers included five regular employees, identified as technicians Gonitha Bhanu Kumar, G V Appa Rao and M Krishna Nagu, general foreman K Prabhakar Rao and manager Gold Kumar, besides three contract workers – Ramana, Trinath and N Appala Raju.The accident occurred in the Continuous Casting Department (CCD) under the Steel Melting Shop (SMS) section of the plant in STC-3 heat forging (FG) unit, when a metal ladle carrying 150 tonnes of molten steel exploded while carrying the hot metal from blast furnace to the casting unit.“The molten steel, which was at an extreme temperature of 1,500 degrees Celsius, spilled out of the ladle like a foam, leaked in large quantities, and fell on the workers in the unit,” Adinarayana said, adding panic-stricken workers fled the site immediately after the explosion occurred.“The process is that hot metal from the blast furnace is reheated at 3,000 degrees Celsius and taken to the casting machine through the ladle. In the process, the ladle exploded and hot metal spilled from the ladle,” said another employee, adding that the liquid metal spread over an area of about 500 metres.Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the accident.“He spoke to the steel plant authorities and enquired about the incident. He asked the district authorities to rush to the spot and take up rescue operations,” an official statement said.Union minister of steel HD Kumaraswamy expressed shock. “The circumstances leading to the incident are being assessed, and all necessary assistance is being extended to those affected,” he said.Sandeep, a supervisor technician in the steel plant who was working in the adjacent section of the unit where the accident took place, said: “I heard a loud explosion, followed by huge fire hitting the roof of the plant. We all ran out as the hot metal along with flames was spreading fast across the floor.”