Four contract workers at the Steel Authority of India Limited’s Rourkela steel plant (RSP) in Odisha died on Wednesday after a suspected gas leak, the state-owned company said in a statement.
The mishap took place at the Coal Chemical Department of the RSP in the morning, when a total of 10 workers were on duty. According to a preliminary report, the four workers died due to emission of carbon monoxide gas from the unit, officials said.
The four men were employees hired on contract from private firm M/S Star Constructions and were engaged in maintenance work at the plant’s coal chemicals department, SAIL said. “The workers felt unwell at around 9 a.m. on 06.01.2021 and were immediately rushed to the ICU of Ispat General Hospital (IGH) at Rourkela for treatment,” the company said in a statement. “A high-level committee has been formed to inquire into the cause of the incident and all emergency protocols have been immediately activated in the plant.”
A Reuters report quoted inspector general Kavita Jalan as saying that the police were investigating the deaths. The plant was functioning normally, public relations officer Dhirendra Mishra said. SAIL shares fell after the news and were down 2.8% on India’s National Stock Exchange as of 2:30pm.
