8 VSP workers killed as molten steel spills

Visakhapatnam: Ina major accident that sent shockwaves across the city, at least eight workers were killed, and six others were injured when a bucket carrying molten steel spilled over them at Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) here on Monday. The molten steel was extremely hot at about 1,600 degrees Celsius.

The gory accident took place at Machine-2 of the Steel Melting Shop-1 (SMS-1) of the Continuous Casting Department when a huge quantity of molten steel spilled over the workers after the ladle carrying it exploded at a very high temperature. The blast resulted in a massive fire and spilled several tonnes of hot steel on the shop floor. Panic engulfed the plant as several workers were present at the time of the incident.

The deceased were identified as G Bhanu Kumar, GV Appa Rao, M Krishna Nagu, K Prabhakar, G. Kumar and contract workers Ramana, Trinadh and Appala Raju. Some of them were charred to death at the accident site itself. Fire extinguishers rushed to the spot to carry out rescue operations.

Close to six workers sustained serious injuries, while the condition of two is said to be critical. R Mallikarjuna Rao, P Srinivas, A Appa Rao, Satyanand, Suribabu and Pydiraju were among those injured. Visakhapatnam District Collector M Abhishikth Kishore said the accident occurred at 4.15 pm. He observed that the six injured workers were shifted to two private hospitals in the city.

Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha spoke to the District Collector and City Police Commissioner over phone and instructed them to ensure quality treatment for the injured. While travelling to Visakhapatnam Steel Plant from Vizianagaram, Anitha kept monitoring the situation.

Expressing anguish over repeated accidents at the steel plant, trade union leaders pointed out that lack of maintenance, management's negligence, and the use of substandard materials continue to cause accidents at the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL)-run Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. Meanwhile, leaders from Left parties demanded compensation of Rs 5 crore for each deceased family.

This is not the first time that such a fatal accident has taken place at the steel plant. Back in June 2012, an explosion occurred at Converter-1 of Steel Melting Shop-2 of the plant, killing 19 workers.