An explosion in the oxygen plant of the steel melt shop (two) late on Wednesday night claimed 11 lives at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and left eight in a critical condition with 95 per cent burns.

The accident happened around 9 p.m.

Of the eleven dead, five were employees of the steel plant, two of the Bluestar Contracting Agency, three of Dastur & Co and one of Siemag.

Of the eight employees in the hospitals, seven belong to the steel plant and one to Dastur & Co. The employees and officials were engaged in stabilising the production in the newly commissioned steel melt shop (two), constructed as a part of the expansion project, when the accident occurred.

The capacity of the steel plant has been increased from three million tonnes (mt) to 6.3 mt and most of the new units have been commissioned in the recent months. Earlier, in May, two workers of a private company — Neha Construction Pvt Ltd — were killed at the newly constructed blast furnace (three).

According to Mr Ch. Narasinga Rao, the CPM leader and the honorary president of the recognised union, “the steel plant management owes an explanation to the workers and the public how and why accidents are happening in the plant with such frequency. The morale of the workers is badly shaken and it is for the management to instill confidence in them.”

The accident could not have come at a worse time for the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, which is seeking to disinvest 10 per cent of the equity.

The IPO is scheduled to hit the market in a few months' time.

The market conditions are not conducive and the accidents have badly marred the image of the company.

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