NTPC unit blast in Raebareli: Crawled out over bodies of victims, hot ashes, say eyewitnesses

The eyewitnesses of the boiler blast at NTPC unit in Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli on Wednesday evening are still struggling to come to terms with the horrifying incident as they describe how they crawled out to safety literally over the bodies of victims and hot ashes.

As many as 22 people have been confirmed dead so far while over 200 others are reported injured.

According to an onlooker Arvind, "The blast in the plant took place due to the bursting of a steam pipe. As the plant was all in flames, hot ashes sprung out of this pipe as high as 25-30 feet. Smoke was seen billowing out of the site."

Another eyewitness Radheyshyam said, "Due to the explosion, the bodies of several workers working near the steam pipe were blown to smithereens. Those who escaped the blast were heard screaming as hot ashes fell on them like molten lava. There were scenes of chaos and panic all over the place."

Shankar, who worked in the plant and considers himself fortunate to have escaped alive, says several bodies were scattered all across the site of the NTPC unit. While many treaded on the bodies of others to get out to safety, some people hid behind the machine of the plant.   

Meanwhile, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who was on a three-day visit to Gujarat as part of his third leg of the Gujarat NavSarjan Yatra from Wednesday, cut short his tour and will be reaching Rae Bareli to take stock of the situation.

Party Chief Sonia Gandhi, whose Lok Sabha constituency is Rae Bareli, has asked Congress cadres to help is rescue operations and provide every possible help to the families of the injured. She is unlikely to visit the place in person as she is unwell.