The toll in the massive explosion in a boiler at the state-run power giant NTPC's Unchahar plant in Raebareli has risen to 26, a senior official said today. The state government has ordered a magisterial probe.
Raebareli District magistrate Sanjay Kumar Khatri told IANS the number of injured in the Wednesday's National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) plant blast was 64.
While Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is abroad, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma will be visiting Raebareli today. The chief minister has already announced Rs 2 lakh compensation for the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the grievously injured.
Ten persons injured in the state-run power plant blast that occurred around 3.30 pm have been relieved after medical aid.
The massive explosion took place in the 500 MW boiler unit in Unchahar.
The NTPC was also probing the incident which took place due to "access ash deposition" in a furnace.
Many were feared trapped on Wednesday when the fire broke out inside the boiler and a huge ball of dust rose after the explosion. It made rescue operations difficult, an official had told IANS.
Contractual labourers raised slogans on Thursday against the NTPC management.
They claimed they had forewarned about the "impending" disaster at the unit-six as the temperature near the furnace was steadily rising.
Angry locals and family members of the injured have claimed that there was complete absence of medical facilities at the NTPC campus, which led to the spike in the number of casualties.
“Terrible tragedy”
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has taken a break from his ongoing 'Navsarjan Yatra' in poll-bound Gujarat and is visiting the district to meet the families of victims of the explosion.
Raebareli is the parliamentary constituency of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who has expressed shock at the "terrible tragedy".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that he was "deeply pained" by the accident at the power plant.
Union Power Minister R.K. Singh, through social media posts, expressed deep anguish at the loss of lives and said he had directed NTPC chairman and managing director Gurdeep Singh to rush to the site.
