Oxygen tank bursts at Vizag Steel Plant, 10 killed

Trial runs were in progress and the Visakhapatnam (Vizag) Steel Plant was in the last leg of a major plant capacity expansion, from 3 million tonne to 6.5 million tonne, when it was been hit by the worst accident ever.

One in which many of its senior officials - DGMs, AGMs, and GMs - were either seriously injured or possibly even died of burns. At the moment, 10 have died and 10 others have been admitted to two private hospitals in Vizag with severe burns. One of the victims is D.S. Kalsi, GM (general manager) projects at VSP, who is apparently seriously injured. The accident happened when the oxygen tank burst resulting from high pressure. The oxygen was for supply to the Steel Melt Shop (SMS) 300 metres away from the tank.

A VSP official told BT, "when the team of officials found oxygen not reaching the SMS they were inspecting and looking at the causes when the accident occurred. There were some four DGMs and 3 AGMs in the team."   

VSP, he says, has over the last three years nearly completed its major expansion involving an investment of around Rs 12,500 crore. As part of the expansion plans, this Steel Melt Unit is the second in the plant. Explaining its role, he says, hot metal which emerges from the blast furnace is taken to the steel melt shop for making liquid steel, which is the final stage before getting to the finished product. The exact cause of the accident and the extent of damage to the plant are still being studied.