Bokaro, Sep 28 Four contractual workers sustained serious burn injuries on Sunday as fire broke out at Jharkhand's Bokaro Steel Plant, officials said.
The incident occurred when fire broke out in the Steel Melting Shop-2 (SMS-2) of the steel plant earlier in the afternoon.
The injured persons have been identified as Ranjit Mahata, Brajesh Mahata, Omprakash Mahali and Praveen Kumar.
Sources said that after the incident, all the injured were first taken to the plant medical unit, where after receiving first aid they were referred to the Bokaro General Hospital given the nature of the burn injuries.
According to eyewitnesses, the accident occurred when a crane was lifting a ladle full of hot metal.
Suddenly, the crane rope broke, and the hot metal spilled onto the ground. This caused intense flames and engulfed four workers working nearby.
The Bokaro General Hospital sources said that Ranjit Mahata sustained more than 90 per cent burn injuries.
Brajesh Mahata and Omprakash Mahali suffered around 60 per cent burns, while Praveen Kumar suffered 45 per cent burns.
All the four contractual workers have been admitted to the intensive care unit and are being closely monitored by a team of doctors.
Upon receiving information about the fire incident, the workers' families rushed to the spot.
A similar accident had occurred in SMS-2 in June this year, injuring five contractual workers.
Contractual workers at the steel plant are blaming management officials for the accident.
They say that such accidents are occurring frequently due to neglect of safety standards at the steel plant.
The steel plant management has yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
However, sources say an internal investigation has been launched into the incident.
The Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL), located in Jharkhand, is a significant integrated public sector steel plant which produces flat steel products like hot rolled and cold rolled coils and sheets.
Established in 1964 and starting construction in 1968, it was the first "Swadeshi" (indigenous) steel plant in India and is now a part of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
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