Some 23 people were injured on Thursday afternoon in an accidental flare-up in the new coke oven battery of SAIL's Burnpur plant.

According to a company spokesperson, the fire, which was brought under control immediately, caused injuries to the people working at the battery at around 12.15 pm.

“Out of the 23 injured with various degrees of burn injuries, 21 have been provided with immediate medical attention. Two of the contract workers were, however, admitted in the ICU of the Burnpur hospital,” the spokesperson added. The incident occurred during a planned shutdown for carrying out rectification jobs in one of the pre-heaters of the 7-metre-tall coke oven battery.

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