At least eight workers were killed and six others injured when molten steel accidentally spilled on them from a ladle that exploded while carrying the hot metal to the casting unit in the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) on Monday, officials said.
Visakhapatnam district collector M Abhishikth Kishore said the accident happened at around 4.15pm in the central government undertaking also known as Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
Union minister of state for steel Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma said the blast occurred when approximately 150 tonnes of molten steel – heated to nearly 1,500 degrees Celsius – was being transported in a ladle to machine No. 2 as part of the steel manufacturing process.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief and announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs. 50,000 to the injured.
The accident occurred in the Continuous Casting Department (CCD) under the Steel Melting Shop (SMS) section of the plant in STC-3 heat forging (FG) unit.
