Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited blast toll rises to 12

VISAKHAPATNAM: The death toll in the Wednesday's explosion at the state-owned plant of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) here rose to 12 today, with a senior officer succumbing to the injuries.

K Srinivas, Senior Manager of SMS Department, passed away this morning at the hospital, company sources said.

The explosion had occurred at the `oxygen control unit' near the Steel Melting Shop-II at the plant on Wednesday night.

Some senior members of the managerial staff, alongwith workers, were among the victims.

The deceased include Deputy General Manager (Construction) L Srihari and Deputy General Manager (instrumentation) P V Karunakar.

General Manager (Projects) D S Kalsi and Assistant General Manager (SMS) M B R S Sarma, who were critically injured, have been shifted to Mumbai. Total of seven people are still undergoing treatment.

Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma had yesterday ordered an high-level inquiry into the mishap.