6 killed in fire mishap at MSP Mettalics plant in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR: At least six people were killed and several others injured in a fire mishap on Monday night at a steel plant in Jharsuguda, nearly 400 km from here.

While one person died on the spot, five workers succumbed to their injuries at the local district headquarters hospital on Tuesday.

According to Jharsuguda superintendent of police Kavita Jalan, a portion of the MSP Mettalics Limited at Gudipatha caught fire while the workers were on duty at pulverize poll injection of the plant.

The devastating inferno was so severe that the fire service brigade just could not reach near the plant for over two hours.

Of the five seriously injured persons, three were undergoing treatment for burning, while two of them were referred to orthopedic and surgery wings, hospital sources said.

Meanwhile, the workers complained that the plant authorities were engaging them in considerably danger-prone sections without providing adequate safety instruments.

“We are not given enough safety equipments. Some people do not get helmets while others are not given shoes or safety belts. If anybody dares to object, he is fired from job,” a leader of MSP Mettalics Employees’ Union said.