Dear All,
I am personally very shocked and feel very sad about this unfortunate event. My deepest condolences to all those families who lost their loved ones, and I also pray for the speedy recovery of the injured individuals.
Thanks & Regards.
From India, Mumbai
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72I am personally very shocked and feel very sad about this unfortunate event. My deepest condolences to all those families who lost their loved ones, and I also pray for the speedy recovery of the injured individuals.
Thanks & Regards.
From India, Mumbai
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Dear Manish Anand,
Really sad news... Sixteen people were killed in this incident. While going through the net, I came across the below shocking facts regarding VSP. I think the management of VSP should consider conducting a Process Safety Audit and taking precautionary measures accordingly. Let's pray for the souls of the deceased employees.
Source: Net
"This is the third fire accident in less than two months and the fourth this year.
Two workers engaged by a private company were burnt alive in a blast in the recently commissioned blast furnace-III on May 1.
In another fire mishap on May 22, a conveyor belt carrying raw material to a new blast furnace completely melted, stalling the production and causing property loss of about Rs. 1 crore. There were no casualties.
The blast furnace-III was erected as part of a plan to expand plant capacity to 6.3 million tonnes.
Steel Plant Employees' Union general secretary D. Adinarayana blamed negligence on the part of the management for frequent accidents in the plant."
From India
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Really sad news... Sixteen people were killed in this incident. While going through the net, I came across the below shocking facts regarding VSP. I think the management of VSP should consider conducting a Process Safety Audit and taking precautionary measures accordingly. Let's pray for the souls of the deceased employees.
Source: Net
"This is the third fire accident in less than two months and the fourth this year.
Two workers engaged by a private company were burnt alive in a blast in the recently commissioned blast furnace-III on May 1.
In another fire mishap on May 22, a conveyor belt carrying raw material to a new blast furnace completely melted, stalling the production and causing property loss of about Rs. 1 crore. There were no casualties.
The blast furnace-III was erected as part of a plan to expand plant capacity to 6.3 million tonnes.
Steel Plant Employees' Union general secretary D. Adinarayana blamed negligence on the part of the management for frequent accidents in the plant."
From India
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It is really sad to know of this incident.My heartfelt condolences to bereaved families. B.Saikumar HR & Labour Law advisor Mumbai
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Very sad indeed.
VISAKHAPATNAM: In the worst-ever accident in the history of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), 16 workers, including some officers, were burnt alive following a huge explosion in the recently commissioned oxygen plant in the steel melting shop III unit on Wednesday night. About 20 workers were injured. The explosion occurred when the officials were conducting a trial run of the oxygen plant. Most of those killed on Wednesday night were contract workers.
At the time of the accident, 31 workers, including DGM-level rank officers, were in the shift. Sources say that the death toll is likely to go up as nobody knows how many workers stayed close to the oxygen plant at the time of the mishap. After the massive blast, a huge fire raged across the plant. All the workers and officials present in the oxygen plant were charred to death. The oxygen plant was completely gutted as huge flames swept through the unit. The injured suffered 80-90% burns. The Seven Hills Hospital was filled with the cries of the injured workers screaming in agony.
Gajuwaka MLA Venkataramaiah confirmed to TOI that 16 workers had died in the mishap. The steel plant management was not available for comment even a couple of hours after the accident. Trade union leaders allege that maintenance works in the plant have been neglected for well over a year.
The new SMS III wing, which was constructed as part of the expansion works of the plant, was commissioned recently. The trade unions and the workers were searching for the bodies at the accident spot while firefighters were trying to control the fire. Raju, an eyewitness, said 10 bodies have been taken out from the charred remains of the gutted plant. "We have never heard of such a tragedy in VSP history," Shankar, a worker who escaped the fire, said.
In the process of steelmaking, the hot metal is released from the blast furnace (BF), which is then sent to the mixer in the SMS wing to convert the hot metal into blooms. Each SMS wing has an oxygen house or plant. On Wednesday night, the oxygen plant exploded when pressure increased in the pipeline. The machinery in the newly-built SMS wing was erected by a German company, which has not provided expertise or any proper instructional methods to the steel plant, union leader Adinarayana alleged. "There is no supervision of safety or quality in the expansion works," he alleged.
Over the last four years, work has been done to increase the capacity of the plant. The last accident took place a month ago in which two workers were killed. In fact, this was the fourth accident in the last four months.
Regards,
Hansa
From India, Udaipur
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VISAKHAPATNAM: In the worst-ever accident in the history of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), 16 workers, including some officers, were burnt alive following a huge explosion in the recently commissioned oxygen plant in the steel melting shop III unit on Wednesday night. About 20 workers were injured. The explosion occurred when the officials were conducting a trial run of the oxygen plant. Most of those killed on Wednesday night were contract workers.
At the time of the accident, 31 workers, including DGM-level rank officers, were in the shift. Sources say that the death toll is likely to go up as nobody knows how many workers stayed close to the oxygen plant at the time of the mishap. After the massive blast, a huge fire raged across the plant. All the workers and officials present in the oxygen plant were charred to death. The oxygen plant was completely gutted as huge flames swept through the unit. The injured suffered 80-90% burns. The Seven Hills Hospital was filled with the cries of the injured workers screaming in agony.
Gajuwaka MLA Venkataramaiah confirmed to TOI that 16 workers had died in the mishap. The steel plant management was not available for comment even a couple of hours after the accident. Trade union leaders allege that maintenance works in the plant have been neglected for well over a year.
The new SMS III wing, which was constructed as part of the expansion works of the plant, was commissioned recently. The trade unions and the workers were searching for the bodies at the accident spot while firefighters were trying to control the fire. Raju, an eyewitness, said 10 bodies have been taken out from the charred remains of the gutted plant. "We have never heard of such a tragedy in VSP history," Shankar, a worker who escaped the fire, said.
In the process of steelmaking, the hot metal is released from the blast furnace (BF), which is then sent to the mixer in the SMS wing to convert the hot metal into blooms. Each SMS wing has an oxygen house or plant. On Wednesday night, the oxygen plant exploded when pressure increased in the pipeline. The machinery in the newly-built SMS wing was erected by a German company, which has not provided expertise or any proper instructional methods to the steel plant, union leader Adinarayana alleged. "There is no supervision of safety or quality in the expansion works," he alleged.
Over the last four years, work has been done to increase the capacity of the plant. The last accident took place a month ago in which two workers were killed. In fact, this was the fourth accident in the last four months.
Regards,
Hansa
From India, Udaipur
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My deepest condolences.
Vizag Steel (VSP/RINL-VSP) is a state-owned performer in the Steel Industry.
Recent news indicates that large expansion plans were in place with N.S. Rao assuming charge of Director of Projects at RINL-VSP.
Whether state-owned or a private firm employee, people's lives cost is equivalent and invaluable (read of great value!). It has been reported that similar 4 accidents occurred this year, all fire-related (one of which claimed the lives of 2 contract employees!). Considering that VSP is a top organization with HR awards, Green Ops award, and houses the Large Blower in India, I expect a very high level of Health & Safety measures in place and not just the mere distribution of mosquito nets.
Indian agencies, in general, are poor in their implementation of Health & Safety procedures and see them as a means to extract more money from investors rather than seriously considering the consequences/incidents. I agree India has a population of over 1 billion, but that doesn't mean that I would forgive losing my brother from my family due to an erroneous system. Acts of omission, negligence should be investigated and brought to book, severely punished, without which this incident would soon be met with apathy.
Ref:
[Vizag Steel](http://www.vizagsteel.com/index.asp?sm=1&url=code/press/default.asp)
From India, Mumbai
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Vizag Steel (VSP/RINL-VSP) is a state-owned performer in the Steel Industry.
Recent news indicates that large expansion plans were in place with N.S. Rao assuming charge of Director of Projects at RINL-VSP.
Whether state-owned or a private firm employee, people's lives cost is equivalent and invaluable (read of great value!). It has been reported that similar 4 accidents occurred this year, all fire-related (one of which claimed the lives of 2 contract employees!). Considering that VSP is a top organization with HR awards, Green Ops award, and houses the Large Blower in India, I expect a very high level of Health & Safety measures in place and not just the mere distribution of mosquito nets.
Indian agencies, in general, are poor in their implementation of Health & Safety procedures and see them as a means to extract more money from investors rather than seriously considering the consequences/incidents. I agree India has a population of over 1 billion, but that doesn't mean that I would forgive losing my brother from my family due to an erroneous system. Acts of omission, negligence should be investigated and brought to book, severely punished, without which this incident would soon be met with apathy.
Ref:
[Vizag Steel](http://www.vizagsteel.com/index.asp?sm=1&url=code/press/default.asp)
From India, Mumbai
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If anybody could get accident investiagtion report of this incident do share with us... Let’s learn from the root causes and try our best to prevent recurrence in our own places...
From India
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From India
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I had been to a large state-run cement factory long back as a part of my school days project. We students were given basic masks to protect against fly ash. The state of the mask showed the lackadaisical approach of the authorities on health and safety. A group of students, including myself, took up the assignment of surveying the matter among employees that day to expose major lack of health and safety measures and gross manipulations in the employee provisions records. The result had earned us special remarks in school. (I should say that the employees didn't prefer wearing the masks, stating discomfort while working.)
The report was further forwarded to the Labour Officer. Some days later, we received threatening calls to our home landline phone. For our safety, the school dropped the case. Such cases go grossly unreported. At least in this case, something should be done before another Bhopal breakout...
I support Dilip, Manish, and Hansa. I would revert back on any leads further...
From India, Mumbai
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The report was further forwarded to the Labour Officer. Some days later, we received threatening calls to our home landline phone. For our safety, the school dropped the case. Such cases go grossly unreported. At least in this case, something should be done before another Bhopal breakout...
I support Dilip, Manish, and Hansa. I would revert back on any leads further...
From India, Mumbai
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My heartfelt condolences to bereaved families. Shocking to everyone. But after some days, we forget everything and do the same thing, compromising on safety norms. We must learn the lessons from our mistakes and experiences. We should not think that "Nothing will happen to us."
Sanjeevi
From India, Bangalore
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Sanjeevi
From India, Bangalore
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Very shocking. This reminds me of the explosion and fire at Dudhsagar Dairy in Mehsana, Gujarat in September 2011, killing 12 - the majority of whom were Managers - who came together during lunch in a cold room where LPG was leaking and repairs were ongoing. They came to see the progress of the work and asked someone to arrange for a portable fan. As soon as the fan was switched on, it exploded, killing all who were present.
Such incidents indicate the real situation on the ground of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in India. No amount of condolences can bring back the lost lives, and every minute workers continue to die in workplace accidents and from diseases.
Thank you all for the post-comments-news.
From India, Coimbatore
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Such incidents indicate the real situation on the ground of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in India. No amount of condolences can bring back the lost lives, and every minute workers continue to die in workplace accidents and from diseases.
Thank you all for the post-comments-news.
From India, Coimbatore
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