Odisha: 19 injured in accident at Tata Steel’s Meramandali plant in Dhenkanal

Bhubaneswar, June 13:  At least 19 persons were injured in an accident at the Tata Steel plant at Meramandali in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district on Tuesday, officials said.

According to Tata Steel officials, the accident occurred at the blast furnace power plant at around 1 p.m. during inspection.

The 19 injured were immediately shifted to the occupational health centre inside the plant and then to Cuttack for further treatment. The condition of two persons is stated to be critical.

Dhenkanal SP Gyanaranjan Mohapatra said a valve carrying hot water got opened and 19 persons were injured in the incident. A team from the district administration will also visit the spot for an investigation, he said.

Tata Steel said: “We are working closely with relevant authorities and conducting our own internal investigation. Safety remains our top priority and we’re committed to learning from this incident. More details will follow as they become available.”

“A total of 19 patients from Tata Steel’s Meramandali plant in Dhenkanal were brought here. They have all suffered burns. Out of the 19 patients, 2 patients have also sustained fractures, and 6 of them are burnt above 40%. One patient has sustained burns over 70% are getting treated in the ICU, ” said Dr Subrat Jena, Ashwini Hospital, Cuttack.