KOCHI: The death of a worker who suffered serious burns in the ‘electric fire’ at the substation of a captive power plant in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited’s Kochi Refinery Complex raises doubts over the safety mechanism in place for the labourers working there.
Workers and local residents are not buying into the Refinery authorities’ stance that in an industry like this it is impossible to predict the timing of such untoward incidents.
When contacted, a BPCL official said that all the possible safety precautions have been put in place. Tuesday’s accident was an unfortunate incident.
On Tuesday K D Velayudhan, 53 of Korakuzhy, Chethikode, Ernakulam and Arun, 34, of Palaprayil, Vadayambadi, Puthencruz, were injured and admitted to a private hospital in the city. Arun succumbed to injuries at a city hospital on Saturday night. While, Velayudhan, who suffered 86 percent burns continued to be in a critical stage.
According to officials, the two workers had been working on high power cables when they were struck by a shock wave caused by a short circuit. The refinery is operating normally after the minor fire which broke out in one of its sub stations. Fire and Rescue Services units from Thrikkakara and Trippunithura had reached the spot but they were not pressed into service since there was no fire or blast at the substation.
“The two contract workers belonged to a private firm which had been contracted to do the electrical works for Kochi Refinery. Hence, the refinery is least bothered about their problems,” said a worker, requesting anonymity. The local residents want the BPCL authorities to put in place an effective mechanism to avert this kind of mishaps in the future.
In October last year, 25 students and two teachers of Ambalamedu Government Vocational Higher Secondary School were rushed to a hospital after being exposed to ammonia gas which leaked from the refinery. Prior to this, three migrant workers lost their lives in two separate accidents at the Integrated Refinery Expansion Project(IREP) of BPCL Kochi Refinery. Three labourers, two from Jharkhand and one from Bihar were killed when a platform collapsed and fell on them at the Integrated Refinery Expansion Project (IREP) of BPCL Kochi Refinery. The mishap happened in February last year.
Ambalamedu SI M Dinesh Kumar said the police have begun an inquiry to ascertain the exact cause of the accident.