Bhilai Steel Plant gas leak: Casualty unlikely to go up, all injured are safe, says SAIL
New Delhi: The number of casualties due to the leakage of poisonous gas in SAIL’s Bhilai Steel Plant is unlikely to go beyond six as all the people who were injured are now safe and out of danger, the company said on Thursday.
"Out of the persons who were brought to the hospital, 21 persons have been released after first aid and necessary treatment. Nine persons are still admitted in the hospital for observation and medical treatment. Condition of these nine persons is stable and they are out of danger," SAIL said in a statement.
A company official said that since all the injured people are safe and out of danger the number of casualties is not expected to go up beyond the yesterday's tally of six.
Meanwhile, a magisterial probe has been ordered into the incident of leakage of poisonous gas at SAIL's Bhilai plant in which six people, including two Deputy General Managers, were killed and about 30 others injured.
"A magisterial inquiry, headed by the Durg Additional District Magistrate, has been ordered into yesterday's incident," Durg Collector R Sangeetha said today.
Soon after news of the incident at the Steel Authority of India Ltd plant in Chhattisgarh's Durg district, police was rushed to the spot, she said.
Last evening, due to leakage of poisonous carbon monoxide gas from the blast furnace, 36 employees of the BSP got affected, of which six died. The injured were taken to Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Bhilai.
Read: 6 killed, 34 injured in gas leakage at Bhilai Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh
In a statement late last night, SAIL had said, "As per preliminary information, the main header of pump house No.2 which supplies water to the Gas Cleaning Plants (GCP) of Blast Furnaces suddenly ruptured at around 18:10 hrs.
"This resulted in sudden loss in water pressure to the GCPs and the Blast Furnace gas from the scrubbers entered the water pipeline affecting the people attending the breakdown in the pump house and in the nearby area".
Steel Minister Narendra Singh Tomar is slated to visit Bhilai during the day. He has already ordered a high-level probe to ascertain the cause of the accident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled deaths due to gas leakage at Bhilai Steel Plant and assured Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh of all help for rescue and relief operations.
"The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, spoke to Dr Raman Singh, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh this morning, and assured him of all necessary assistance for rescue and relief operations, and treatment for those affected by the gas leak incident at the Bhilai Steel Plant," an official statement said on Friday.
"The Prime Minister offered his condolences to the family members of those who lost their lives in the accident," the statement said.
Modi also spoke to the Home Minister Rajnath Singh and directed that the Centre to coordinate with the State Government's relief operations at the plant and to ensure that all possible assistance is offered to those affected by the incident, the statement said.
Bhilai is one of the five integrated steel plants of the Steel Authority of India Ltd.
