NEW DELHI:
AT least 26 people were killed and 70 injured when a massive explosion ripped a boiler in NTPC’s Unchahar plant in Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday afternoon.
The accident involved the 500 MW boiler of the Unchahar project’s brand new Unit 6, which was commissioned just six months ago. The PSU in its official statement maintained that the accident was triggered by “hot flue gases and steam” escaping from the affected unit. The bodies of workers who were in the vicinity of Unit 6 at the time of the incident were flung several metres from the site due to the intensity of the blast, said the source.
“At around 3.30 pm on 01.11.2017 there was sudden abnormal sound at 20 mt. elevation and there was opening in corner no. 2 from which hot flue gases and steam escaped affecting the people working around the area,” said the statement issued by NTPC. It added that while around 80 people were rushed to NTPC hospital, “most of them were discharged after giving first-aid”. “In the mishap, 8 people succumbed to the injuries. About 10 persons with serious injuries have been referred to nearby hospitals and to Lucknow to provide immediate treatment,” it said.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has taken a break from his ongoing ‘Navsarjan Yatra’ in poll-bound Gujarat and is visiting Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh to meet the families of victims of the explosion. Raebareli is the parliamentary constitutency of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who has expressed shock at the “terrible tragedy”.
While Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is abroad, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma will be visiting Rae Bareli today. UP Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar told reporters in Lucknow that the toll in the NTPC boiler blast has risen to 26.
The NTPC has initiated a probe to ascertain the reasons behind the blast. The chief minister had yesterday announced Rs 2 lakh compensation for the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the grievously injured.
