Fire in gas-filled pipeline kills at least nine at Bhilai Steel Plant

SAIL's flagship unit's alleged lapse spills out in the open

Nine workers were killed and 14 others critically injured when a major fire broke out in a gas pipeline of Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), the flagship entity of the Steel Authority of India (SAIL), in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district on Tuesday morning.

The incident took place at about 10.30 am when 30 workers were engaged in the scheduled maintenance job in the 70-metre three-year-old gas pipeline of Coke Oven Battery Complex No. 11. The pipeline, carrying highly combustible coke oven gas, suddenly caught fire.

People were trapped and charred beyond recognition. “So far, nine people have lost their lives and 14 are undergoing medical treatment,” SAIL said in a statement. 

The toll may increase as a few had sustained over 70 per cent burn injuries. The SAIL spokesperson said all resources have been mobilised to provide adequate care to the injured admitted to the BSP hospital. The victims also included some firefighters.

Union Minister of Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh has asked Minister of State for Steel Vishnudeo Sai, Steel Secretary Binoy Kumar, and SAIL Chairman Anil Kumar Chaudhary to rush to Bhilai to take stock of the situation and offer all possible help to the bereaved families. The steel minister is closely monitoring the situation. 

Meanwhile, the alleged serious lapse on the part of SAIL has come to the fore while taking up precautionary measures during a scheduled maintenance job.

K K Dwivedi, Deputy Director with Chhattisgarh government’s industrial health and safety department, who conducted the preliminary enquiry, said prima facie, there are safety lapses as no precautionary measures were taken. The senior management was responsible for the lapse and the state government was serving notice before taking action.

SAIL-BSP did not respond at the time of going to press. 

The incident comes less than a year after a deadly blast killed 45 people at a coal-fired power plant run by state-run NTPC Ltd, raising questions about the safety of industrial workers in the country.

India, on an average, witnessed one death in a coal mine every six days in 2017, according to data provided by India's Coal Minister Piyush Goyal to lawmakers, making it one of the most dangerous countries to be a coal miner.