Nine employees were killed and 14 others were left injured in a blast at the Bhilai Steel Plant of state-owned Steel Authority of India in Chhattisgarh's Durg district.
A fire in gas pipeline of coke oven complex the steel plant broke out at around 10.30 am today, the Press Information Bureau said citing a statement from SAIL. “The fire broke out during a scheduled maintenance job...All resources have been mobilized to provide adequate care to the injured. SAIL is providing all the support to the families of the affected,” the statement added.
SAIL also said that the fire has been contained.
As per preliminary information, over 24 employees were working at the spot when the accident occurred, Inspector General of Police (Durg Range) GP Singh told the newswire PTI. Police personnel and a rescue team rushed to the spot, he said, adding that all the victims were being taken to a local hospital.
As per SAIL's website, the Bhilai Steel Plant is India's sole producer and supplier of rails for the Indian Railways, including 260 metre long rails, and a major producer of a large variety of wide and heavy steel plates and structural steel. With an annual production capacity of 3.153 million tonne of saleable steel, the plant also specialises in other products such as wire rods and merchant products.
(With inputs from PTI)
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