Lucknow: At least 18 people were killed and more than 80 injured in a boiler explosion at a unit of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli district on Wednesday.
Many of the injured are in critical condition with scalded body parts and serious burn injuries caused by hot ash and steam. They have been admitted to government medical facilities at Allahabad and at the Lucknow trauma centre.
The district administration confirmed 18 deaths late on Wednesday night.
Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Law and Order Anand Kumar said the death toll could climb up as many of the injured are in critical condition.
An NDRF team consisting of 32 persons has left Lucknow for Unchahar, the site of the accident. “The team is fully equipped,” Principal Secretary Home Arvind Kumar said.
It may be mentioned here that the unit was being newly installed by the NTPC.
Of the injured, 22 with severe burn injuries have been referred to Lucknow, while 15 are in Rae Bareli hospital. Some of the injured have also been sent to Allahabad, NTPC officials said.
The number of casualties could go up once the blades of the boiler are cut and the team of experts is able to go inside, they said. NTPC has ordered a probe into the blast.
More than 50 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the fire and 100 ambulances, private and government, helped ferry the injured to medical facilities.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who is in Mauritius for an investment summit, announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the workers who died in the accident.
He has also directed officials of the home department to rush to the site to oversee the rescue and relief operations.
State capital’s King George’s Medical University has also been put on alert.
Meanwhile, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday expressed sadness at the boiler blast in the NTPC unit in Rae Bareli, the Lok Sabha constituency of his mother and party President Sonia Gandhi, and condoled the deaths.
“I am saddened by the incident at the Rae Bareli’s NTPC plant. My heartfelt condolences with the family of the dead. I request the administration to help the injured immediately,” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.