As many as 17 workers of Tata Steel’s Meramandali plant in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district sustained burn injuries on Tuesday when a steam pipe of a blast furnace suddenly burst during inspection work. One of the injured workers is reported to be critical.

All the injured have been shifted to a private hospital in Cuttack, about 80kms from Meramandali. The injured included engineers working at the Tata plant, which can produce 5.6 million tonnes of steel.

According to reports, the mishap took place at the blast furnace inside an in-house power plant when a pipe burst and leaked gas. Eyewitnesses said the workers were injured after hot water fell on them.

“Regular maintenance work was going on. A valve was fitted in a pipe carrying the hot burst. Suddenly the valve opened up and hot steam came out. 17 workers were injured in the mishap. All the injured have been shifted to a hospital at Cuttack. There has so far been no casualty reported. The district administration is providing all help. A team has reached the spot to conduct a probe,” Dhenkanal SP Gyana Ranjan Mohapatra told The Telegraph.

In a press release, Tata Steel said: “We are saddened to report an accident at the BFPP2 power plant due to escape of steam at Tata Steel Meramandali Works in Dhenkanal, Odisha.

The accident occurred at 1:00 pm (IST) today during the inspection work and has affected a few people working at the site, who were immediately shifted to the Occupational Health Centre inside the plant premises and then to Cuttack for further treatment, as a precautionary measure, in the Company’s ambulance, accompanied by doctor and paramedics.”