Foreign engineers leave Bhushan steel plant

5 foreign nationals were missing after a devastating fire incident in the plant that is speculated to have killed many people

Forty-two foreign engineers working at the Bhushan Steel Limited (BSL) plant in Dhenkanal for the commissioning of its ill-fated blast furnace II left the site on Sunday because of security concerns.

The exodus followed the ordering of a probe by the state minister for forests, environment and labour, Bijayashree Routray, who on Saturday told mediapersons that five foreign nationals were missing after a devastating fire in the plant that is believed to have killed many people. However, the official casualty numbers were  one dead and 17 injured.

District police said there was no discrepancy in the number of foreign employees working for Bhushan, as all of them presented themselves in person. After verification, 42 of the 65 foreign nationals have been shifted to Bhubaneswar on security concerns.

The government is still in the dark about the number of persons present, killed and missing during and after the mishap as a forensic team is conducting a search operation of the debris.

A probe was conducted by various agencies. P C Dash, director of factories and boilers, said preliminary investigation has revealed the Bhushan authorities did not take permission or follow standard operating procedure before commissioning the blast furnace II, which led to the severe blast.

BSL said it was an accident. “Even the investigation conducted by the state government has found that one person was killed and five were injured,” said A K Raina, executive director of the company.

An expert technical team of the Rourkela Steel Plant said the blast occurred as the hot metal came in direct contact with water, which should have been avoided.

Raising the issue of government neglect in ensuring safety standards at BSL, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said that the plant owner must be arrested under the National Security Act (NSA).

“The conspicuous absence of the Bhushan Steel managing director five days after the blast took place shows that he has admitted his mistake. Such a person should be booked under the NSA as no other law would keep him behind bars,” Bijaya Mohapatra, a senior BJP leader told mediapersons after his visit to the plant site.

On the other hand, BSL maintained that it was only an accident and was not planned. “It was just an accident. Even the investigation conducted by the state government has found that only one person was killed and five were injured,” said A K Raina, executive director of the company.