While trade union leaders claimed to have recovered nine bodies, the RINL management is yet to issue an official statement confirming the death toll.
An unfortunate accident at Andhra Pradesh’s Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) in Vishakhapatnam killed several people and injured several others on Monday.
While trade union leaders claimed to have recovered nine bodies, the RINL management is yet to issue an official statement confirming the death toll. According to information shared with Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav by health officials in Visakhapatnam district, the bodies of four deceased have reached the steel plant’s general hospital, news agency PTI reported.
As rescue and assessment operations continued, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the incident. “He spoke to the steel plant authorities and inquired about the accident. He asked the district authorities to rush to the scene and carry out rescue operations,” an official statement said.
What do we know about the accident?
A large amount of molten iron fell on the workers in the factory, killing a number of them and injuring others. The incident occurred at around 4.30 pm in the continuous casting department (CCD) of the plant under the Steel Melting Shop (SMS) division, said a local union leader requesting anonymity, according to an earlier HT report.
According to police, the molten iron spilled while being transported in a bucket by crane. Police said the molten iron was extremely hot at around 1,600 degrees Celsius.
A union leader said: “A ladle carrying molten steel suddenly malfunctioned, causing a large amount of liquid metal to spill. The intense heat and resulting fires trapped workers in the vicinity, resulting in many casualties.”
Meanwhile, another eyewitness indicated that the accident occurred during operations related to NTC-3 Heat F, as a large amount of molten steel leaked while it was being lifted, causing a massive fire.
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