Vizag steel plant blast toll rises to 15

The death toll in Wednesday's explosion at a steel plant here rose to 15 on Saturday with three more employees succumbing to burn injuries.

Assistant General Manager at the plant L Srinivas breathed his last at a hospital here, while Chargeman P Narayana Rao and Foreman M B Muralidhara Raju who were sifted to a hospital in Mumbai passed away on Saturday, sources said.

Four others, General Manager D S Kalsi and Assistant General Manager M B R S Sarma and an employee of a private company R Bhattacharya were undergoing treatment at a hospital in Mumbai, while Deputy Manager Prabhakara Rao was under treatment at a hospital here and their condition was stated to be critical, sources said.

Explosion at the state-owned Rashtriya Ispat Nigam plant occurred at the 'oxygen control unit' on Wednesday night.

Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma has ordered a high-level enquiry into the mishap.