DHENKANAL/BHUBANESWAR: At least 18 persons were injured, several critically, when the steam pipeline of the blast furnace in a power plant of Tata Steel’s Meramundali works burst on Tuesday. The accident occurred at around 1 pm when a team of workers and plant officials were reportedly working on the maintenance of the blast furnace pipeline.
All 18 persons have sustained burns to the extent of 20 to 60 per cent apart from other injuries. The injured include one engineer, a supervisor and the rest contractual workers. They were immediately rushed to the occupational health centre and later shifted to a private hospital at Cuttack.
Chief of corporate services, Tata Steel, Mohit Das told mediapersons that the district collector and deputy director, factory and boilers, were immediately informed about the accident. He said the accident occurred when a periodic maintenance was being carried out. Das put the figure of injury at 17 saying another worker had panicked.
An inquiry by the inspector of the factory and boilers has started while Tata Steel is also conducting an internal investigation into the incident. Minister of steel and mines Prafulla Mallick told The New Indian Express that he has already discussed the matter with the district collector. The situation is under control, he said. Dhenkanal collector Saroj Kumar Sethy and SP Gyana Ranjan Mohapatra rushed to the spot and took stock of the situation.
The collector said the injured comprised locals and outsiders and their identity was being ascertained. A probe by the inspector of factory and boilers has already started to fix the responsibility, he said.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the company said the area has been cordoned off and all emergency protocols activated. “The company is ensuring all necessary information and support to the families of the affected personnel. We are working closely with relevant authorities on ground,” it stated.
In November 2013, a deadly explosion had ripped through the blast furnace of Bhushan Steel Ltd, which was later taken over by Tata Steel following bankruptcy declared by the former in 2017.