Chhattisgarh Vedanta plant blast toll rises to 23
The death toll in the Vedanta power plant blast in Chhattisgarh’s Sakti district has risen to 23, with several workers still under treatment. Authorities are probing the cause, while questions have been raised over the FIR naming company officials
Raipur: The death toll in a blast at the Vedanta power plant in Chhattisgarh’s Sakti district reached 23 as two more workers succumbed to their injuries on Saturday, while 12 others are undergoing treatment at different hospitals, officials said.
Three of the injured are said to be in a critical condition, they said.
Meanwhile, industrialist Naveen Jindal said filing an FIR against Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal before any investigation in connection with the incident raises serious concerns.
Talking to PTI, Sakti Superintendent of Police Prafull Thakur said, “Two more injured workers died during treatment at separate hospitals this morning.” One of them was identified as Subrata Kumar Jana, who was admitted at Raigarh Medical College, and the other as Upendra Sah, who was undergoing treatment at Kalda Hospital, Raipur, he said.
Jana was a native of Medinipur in West Bengal, while Sah was from Garhwa in Jharkhand, he said.
The duo had suffered around 90 per cent burns in the incident, officials said.
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.
According to officials, four workers died on the spot, while nine others succumbed to injuries soon after the incident. Seven more injured workers succumbed to injuries in hospitals on April 15, while another worker died on the night of April 16 at a hospital in Raipur.
The deceased include seven labourers from West Bengal, five from Chhattisgarh, four from Jharkhand, three from Uttar Pradesh, and two each from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
Of the 12 injured, six are admitted to Jindal Hospital, Raigarh, two each in Balaji Metro Hospital, Raigarh, and Apex Hospital, Raigarh, and one in Raigarh Medical College, a health official said, while another injured worker is undergoing treatment at Shri Shankara Hospital, Raipur.
Three of these injured workers are in a critical state, he said.
Police have registered an FIR under sections related to causing death by negligence and negligent conduct with machinery.
“Eight to ten individuals, including Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal and plant head Devendra Patel, have been named in the FIR. If more persons are found responsible during the investigation, their names will be added,” SP Thakur earlier said.
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 said on Thursday.
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.
After the incident, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai had directed the Commissioner of Bilaspur division to probe the incident.
The state’s General Administration Department on Friday issued an order appointing the Commissioner, Bilaspur Division, as the inquiry officer to conduct a detailed investigation into the accident.
The Sakti district administration has also ordered a magisterial probe into the incident.
The Congress has demanded that stricter charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder be invoked in the case.
In a post on ‘X’ on Saturday morning, industrialist Jindal wrote, “The tragedy in Chhattisgarh is deeply painful. 20 families have lost everything. Proper compensation, livelihood support for the families, and a thorough investigation are non-negotiable. But naming @AnilAgarwal_Ved Ji in the FIR before any investigation raises serious concerns. He is a self-made man from a humble and backward community background who built a global enterprise from scratch. He had no role in that plant’s operations.”
“When accidents happen in PSU (public sector undertakings) plants or Railways, do we name the Chairman? We do not. The same standard must apply to the private sector too. Investigate first. Establish responsibility based on evidence. Then act. India’s #ViksitBharat vision needs people like Shri Anil Agarwal to keep investing and building. That happens only when investors trust the system,” he added.
