A boiler at an NLC India thermal power plant exploded here on Thursday leading to a brief spurt of blaze causing serious burn injuries to two contract workers and comparatively milder wounds to six others, who have been hospitalised, an official said here.
The mishap occurred at the sixth unit of the Thermal Power Station-II, in the evening and two workers sustained serious burn injuries, an NLC official told PTI.
"Due to pressure, there was an explosion in the boiler and it led to a flash fire injuring six workers and two technicians," he said when asked on the accident.
The boiler is 84-meter high and when the accident occured, the workers and technicians were at a height of about 32 meters, the official added.
Following the accident, the power generation was halted and the injured were rushed to a private hospital in Tiruchirappalli (about 147 km from here) after first aid and treatment at an in-house health facility.
On preliminary assessment at the health facility, doctors said two contract workers sustained serious burn injuries while the wounds of others were comparatively minor.
The TPS-II is a 1,470 MW facility and has seven 210 MW units currently generating 450 MW power.
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Earlier in the day, as many as 11 people were killed in the styrene gas leak incident at LG Polymers Limited plant at R R Venkatapuram near Visakhapatnam in the wee hours of Thursday.
In all, over 800 persons were evacuated from R R Venkatapuram following the gas leak and most of them only needed first aid. The Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has ordered an inquiry into the gas leak incident, DGP D Gautam Sawang said.
"How the gas leaked and why the neutraliser at the plant did not prove effective in containing the leak will all be investigated. Styrene, though, is not a poisonous gas and can be fatal only if inhaled in excess quantity," Sawang said.
(With inputs from Agencies)
