Fire at Essar Steel plant in Paradip district of Odisha

PARADIP:A major fire broke out at Essar Steel’s iron grinding plant on Monday. However, no casualties were reported. According to sources, the mishap took place at around 12.45 am at the plant, where iron ore fines are agglomerated into pellets.

The fire was brought under control by fire personnel from IFFCO, PPL, Indian Oil Corporation and Kujang. More than 25 labourers were reportedly rescued from the plant.“The workers were engaged in wielding the hot metal at nearby grinding plant site when a piece of hot metal fell on the rubber lining, leading to the mishap. Four fire tenders were rushed to the spot,” Kujang fire officer Biswajit Mohanty said.

“We summoned the fire brigades of nearly all industrial units as soon as the incident took place. The fire was doused before it could go out of control. No major damage has been caused to the site. The production in the plant has been shut. We are trying to restore production. One team is examining the damage and trying to ascertain the exact cause of fire,” a senior Essar official said.Meanwhile, the labour union leaders alleged that the mishap occurred due to lack of safety measures in the plant. They urged the management to enhance the fire safety measures.

Past mishaps

The plant had witnessed a number of tragic incidents in the past.
In 2011, assets worth `1 crore, including high grade electrical cables, plastic and fibre materials, were gutted.
Two persons, including a fire brigade personnel sustained burn injuries in another fire incident at the electrical sub-station on the plant’s premises in 2012.
Similar incidents occurred in 2014 and 2015