The death toll in the blast at a Vedanta power plant in Chhattisgarh’s Sakti district has risen to 27, with seven more workers succumbing to injuries, police said on Wednesday.
The explosion occurred on Tuesday afternoon in a steel tube carrying high-pressure steam from the boiler to the turbine at the plant located in Singhitarai village, leaving several workers with severe burns.
A total of 36 workers were affected in the incident, with 16 injured workers undergoing treatment in hospitals in Raipur and Raigarh.
Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai has announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh for the kin of each deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured, while Vedanta Power has announced ₹35 lakh compensation for the family of each deceased worker along with employment support.
The district administration has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident, which will examine the sequence of events, identify workers present, assess whether the cause was technical or due to human negligence, review safety inspections, and fix responsibility.
