Dealth toll rises to 6 in Vizag refinery accident

Death toll in yesterday's fire accident at Visakha refinery of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) rose to 6 and it is likely go further up, according to authorities.

 

An explosion had occurred at the newly constructed cooling tower on Friday evening when the commissioning process was underway.

 

On Saturday Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily visited the accident site and enquired abut the causes of accident with the HPCL officials.

 

According to BK Namdeo, Director (Refinery), HPCL, about 100 workers were present at cooling tower area when the accident had accrue. Five of those died in the accident are the contract workers and the remaining one person was found to be a regular employee of the company.

 

“We are searching in cooling tower debris for more bodies. Our of the 37 injured persons 3 are in a very critical state. They are being shifted to hospitals in Hyderabad and Mumbai,” Namdeo said.

 

The entire cooling tower has collapsed under the impact of the explosion. The company spent about Rs 15 crore to build it. Currently the refinery has been operating at 60%of its installed capacity as some of the units at the facility were shut after the incident. A week to ten days will require to bring back the facility to its full capacity level, officials said.

 

HPCL management has ordered an inquiry on the accident and oil industry safety director has reached Vizag on Saturday for this purpose, according to Namdeo.