- The death count from Vedanta power plant blast has climbed to 24 after another worker died in hospital
- The blast at Vedanta's plant in Chhattisgarh occurred on April 14 due to steam tube explosion
- Several workers remain hospitalised, with three in critical condition
The death count in a blast at the Vedanta power plant in Chhattisgarh's Sakti has climbed to 24 after another worker died during the treatment, officials said on Sunday.
The worker, a resident of Jharkhand, died at the Raigarh Medical College this morning, six days after he was injured in the accident.
About a dozen others are undergoing treatment at different hospitals, of which three are said to be in a critical condition, officials said.
Two workers had died during treatment on Saturday. One of them was identified as Subrata Kumar Jana, who was admitted to Raigarh Medical College, and the other as Upendra Sah, who was undergoing treatment at Kalda Hospital, Raipur.
Jana was from West Bengal's Medinipur, while Sah was from Jharkhand's Garhwa.
They had suffered around 90 per cent burns in the incident, officials said.
Vedanta Power Plant Blast
The explosion occurred on April 14 in a steel tube carrying high-pressure steam from the boiler to the turbine at the Vedanta Ltd power plant located in Singhitarai village, leaving several workers with severe burn injuries.
Four workers were killed on the spot, while seven others died in hospitals on April 15. Another worker died on the night of April 16 at a hospital in Raipur.
The victims included seven labourers from West Bengal, five from Chhattisgarh, four from Jharkhand, three from Uttar Pradesh, and two each from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
Police have registered a case under sections related to causing death by negligence and negligent conduct with machinery against eight to ten individuals, including Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal and plant head Devendra Patel.
Vedanta Plant Blast Probe
A preliminary technical investigation into the blast has found that excessive fuel accumulation inside the boiler furnace led to a pressure build-up, triggering the explosion, police officials have said.
A report by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Sakti also confirmed that the accumulation of fuel and the resulting excessive pressure were the primary causes of the explosion, they said.
Sources indicate that technical malfunctions were observed on multiple occasions during production over the last year. Sources further reveal that a brief shutdown was necessitated due to a technical fault just 10 days prior to the blast.
