HPCL fire: four more dead, toll rises to 18

VISAKHAPATNAM: The death toll in Friday's fire at the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd's refinery complex here rose to 18 with four more workers succumbing to their injuries today.

Executive Director of HPCL's Vizag refinery V V R Narasimham said that M Malakondaiah(46) and Manmadha Reddy(46), who were undergoing treatment at Manipal Hospital, Ramana (40) at Old Care Hospital and Y V Satya Rao (27) who was being treated at New Care Hospital, all of them were engaged by the private contractors, died today.

However,Eight injured workers,who had been flown to Mumbai, were responding well to the treatment, he added.

A massive fire broke out on Friday evening at the sprawling HPCL complex when workers engaged by private contractors were inside. Of the 18 persons killed, only one -- Ch Murali, in-charge of the cooling tower -- was an HPCL employee.

Another 18 injured persons are undergoing treatment at various hospitals in the city.