Eight workers were killed and six others suffered critical burn injuries after a ladle carrying molten steel exploded at Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd's (RINL) Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on Monday evening, in what trade unions described as the facility's worst industrial accident in more than a decade.
The blast ripped through the continuous casting department of steel melting shop-1 (SMS-1) at around 4.30pm, sending a fireball towards the roof of the shop and spilling tonnes of liquid steel heated to nearly 1,600 degrees Celsius across the floor.
The central industrial security force (CISF), which led the firefighting operation, said the explosion originated at Machine No. 2 ladle and ignited an overhead crane before its fire wing brought the blaze under control.
About 18 workers were in the area when the ladle, carrying roughly 150 tonnes of molten steel, toppled and ruptured. Eight workers died at the scene, while firefighting teams battled the blaze for nearly 90 minutes amid thick smoke and intense heat that made access to the core blast zone extremely difficult.
Five Regular Employees, Three Contract Workers among Dead
District collector M Abhishikth Kishore confirmed that five regular employees and three contract workers were killed, with a manager-level officer among the victims.
The deceased were identified as technician Gontina Bhanu Kumar, general foreman K Prabhakar, GV Appa Rao, M Krishna Nagu, Gold Kumar and contract workers Ramana, Trinath and N Appala Raju.
The six injured workers, most of whom suffered burns over more than 70% of their bodies and some as high as 90%, were identified as R Mallikharjuna Rao, P Srinivasa Rao, A Appa Rao, Satyanarayana, Paidiraju and one worker whose name was reported variously as G Suribabu and Hari Babu.
They were initially treated at the steel plant hospital before being shifted to King George Hospital and private facilities, including Seven Hills Hospital, as their condition deteriorated.
Ten ambulances were rushed to the site on the orders of district health authorities, and a round-the-clock control room was established at the Collectorate to coordinate rescue operations and support victims' families.
Centre Announces Relief; Inquiry Ordered
Union steel minister HD Kumaraswamy, who is scheduled to visit the plant on Tuesday, announced ex gratia compensation of ₹25 lakh for the family of each deceased worker, whether regular or outsourced, along with permanent employment for one family member.
RINL will bear the full treatment costs of the injured and provide ₹10 lakh to each severely injured worker.
Mr Kumaraswamy also constituted a special committee comprising experts from other steel plants to determine the cause of the accident.
Prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi expressed grief over the tragedy and announced ₹2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each deceased worker and ₹50,000 for each injured worker.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said he was deeply distressed by the accident and had spoken with the district collector and city police commissioner to coordinate a multi-departmental relief operation.
He deputed home minister V Anitha, who cut short a visit to Vizianagaram, and Visakhapatnam MP M Sribharat to oversee relief and rescue efforts.
Union minister of state for steel and heavy industries Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma said the cause of the blast would be established only after a thorough investigation. RINL has also launched its own inquiry.
Unions Point to Maintenance and Staffing Issues
Trade union leaders were quick to blame management for the accident.
CITU leader K Ayodhya Ram alleged that a leak in the ladle triggered the blast and said the union had repeatedly warned management that safety protocols were being neglected because of staff shortages.
According to him, proper maintenance could have prevented the tragedy.
INTUC leader Mantri Rajasekhar echoed the criticism, accusing senior officials of prioritising production targets while allowing maintenance standards to deteriorate.
Union representatives claimed that more than 10,000 workers had retired, taken voluntary retirement or left the organisation over the past three years, leaving the plant significantly understaffed.
They also alleged that the financially stressed steel plant had been procuring lower-grade raw materials, which they claimed could be contributing to a series of accidents.
Sources said a smaller blast and fire had occurred in a ladle-furnace bay around 40 minutes before the fatal explosion. The earlier incident caused no injuries and was quickly extinguished, after which operations resumed before the second and far deadlier blast occurred.
Plant Has Faced Safety Concerns Earlier
For Visakhapatnam, the disaster revived memories of previous accidents at the state-run steel complex.
The deadliest previous incident occurred in June 2012, when an explosion and fire at a newly commissioned oxygen plant in the steel melting shop killed at least 16 workers. Some reports had placed the death toll even higher.
Smaller molten-metal spills and equipment failures have also been reported over the years.
There was no detailed official statement from plant authorities until late in the evening.
The death toll could rise further given the severity of injuries suffered by those who remain hospitalised.
