At least nine people were killed, including two senior managers, and 15 injured in an explosion at the Indian state-owned steel producer Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), late at night on June 13.
The police chief of Vishakhapatnam, the southern Indian port town where RINL is located, said that rescue operations were continuing and six bodies had been recovered at time of filing this report but that casualties could rise further since there 35 personnel had been working close to the site of the blast.
The blast was reported at RINL's new steel smelting shop (SMS2), which had been installed only two months ago and was currently on trial run, according to the official spokesperson of RINL.
The explosion occurred in the oxygen control room of the smelting shop. Although it is too early to determine the cause, it is suspected that an abnormal build-up of pressure was the main cause, an official said on condition of anonymity since police investigations had not yet commenced as the focus was still on rescue operations.
The police authorities said the condition of many of the injured was critical and the casualties could rise by the time rescue and relief operations were completed.
The trial run of the SMS-2 was part of a $2.5 billion expansion program undertaken by RINL, popularly called, `Vizag Steel Plant', to expand
steelmaking capacity to 6.3 million mt per year from 3 million mt per year currently.