At least 19 workers suffered burn injuries in an accident at the blast furnace of Tata Steel’s Meramandali plant in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district on Tuesday.
The accident occurred around 1 pm due to hot steam escaping from a pipe. Engineers and laborers inspecting the blast furnace sustained injuries when hot water fell on them, according to official sources.
The injured were taken to a private hospital in Cuttack for further treatment, with two in critical condition and admitted to the ICU.
Dhenkanal collector Saroj Kumar Sethi, superintendent of police Gyana Ranjan Mohapatra, and other senior officials arrived at the site to assess the situation.
Meanwhile, Tata Steel issued a statement saying that all emergency protocols were activated immediately after the accident and the area has been cordoned off.
“The company is providing necessary support to the families of the affected personnel. We are working closely with relevant authorities on the ground and have initiated an internal investigation to determine the cause of the accident,” the statement said.
The plant, with a production capacity of 5.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), was previously owned by Bhushan Steel Limited. However, Bamnipal Steel Limited (BNPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, acquired a controlling stake of 72.65% in the company in November 2018 and renamed it Tata Steel BSL Limited. The acquisition was in accordance with the approved Resolution Plan under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.
In November 2013, one person was killed and 16 were injured in an explosion during the commissioning of a slag granulation plant in the blast furnace of the plant under Bhushan’s ownership.
Sujit Bisoyi is a Special Correspondent with the Indian Express and co…
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