Hyderabad: The death toll in Medak steel factory blast rose to two after another worked succumbed to his injuries on Thursday, December 18.
The blast occurred at Agarwal Steel Company in Rangaipally in Manoharabad mandal on December 15 due to a technical glitch, leaving several workers injured. One worker, Saransh Kumar, 35 died on the spot following the accident.
The second victim, Rajesh Pandey, 53 died while undergoing treatment at a hospital on Thursday. The families of the deceased workers demanded that the management extend ex gratia and provide employment to family members.
The accident occurred at around 4 PM when the furnace suddenly ruptured, resulting in the leakage of molten metal. Owing to the intense heat radiation and forceful impact of the metal, the workers operating the ladle crane suffered severe burns.
“One person succumbed to injuries while being shifted to the hospital, and another is currently undergoing treatment,” a senior police official said. Both the injured and the deceased, who were ladle crane operators, belong to Bihar state, he said.
The molten metal did not fall on them, the official further said adding that they sustained burns due to intense heat radiation of the molten metal.
Thick black smoke emanated from the factory located under the jurisdiction of Manoharabad Police Station after the accident.
Based on preliminary investigation, police said the accident appears to have happened due to the sudden failure/rupture of the furnace, possibly caused by excessive temperature or pressure and not due to “blast in the furnace”.
The exact cause will be ascertained after a detailed technical and safety inspection, the official added.
With inputs from PTI
