One killed, 15 injured in fire at pvt steel plant in Odisha

One person was killed and 15 others injured today in a fire and an explosion at the private Bhushan Steel Plant plant in Odisha's Dhenkanal district.
The fire, which was accompanied by an explosion, engulfed a new blast furnace area in the plant at Meramunduli within minutes, police sources said.
Fire tenders from Dhenkanal and Angul districts took over four hours to control the blaze with senior police and district officials rushing to the spot, the sources said.
"According to information provided by the company, one person died and 15 suffered burn injuries in the fire coupled with an explosion in the new blast furnace," District Collector Rupa Roshan Sahu said.

There was information that around 120 workers and employees were at the site when the mishap took place, Sahu said.
Though company officials claimed that the mishap took place during commissioning of the blast furnace, it was learnt that it was functioning for the last couple of days, she said.
On the basis of a report submitted by a four-member team from the directorate of factories and boilers which inspected the mishap site, order was issued for immediate closure of the new blast furnace, the collector said.
The administration was waiting for a detailed report from the company, she said.