3 min readHyderabadJun 8, 2026 10:26 PM IST
The mishap that led to the death of at least eight people at the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) plant, also known as Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, on Monday started with an explosion.
“At the time of the incident, casting operations were underway at Caster-2 of Steel Melt Shop-1. Before the slide gate could be opened to pour hot crude steel from the ladle to the tundish for further casting, a sudden and severe explosion took place. A large ball of fire rose to the ceiling of the shop, and Overhead Crane-2 subsequently caught fire,” the Union Ministry of Steel said in a statement.
The eight people who died included five employees of the plant and three contract labourers. Six others were injured and taken to nearby hospitals, where they are said to be in stable condition.
According to officials, the crane carrying the ladle broke, bringing the molten steel, which was at a temperature of around 1,500-1,600 degrees Celsius, down to the floor of the steel melt shop, burning several of the workers alive.
Twelve workers, who had moved away just moments before the incident, had a narrow escape. They later said they heard a loud blast before fire engulfed the shop floor.
A police officer said the first sound may have been the crane cracking. “The sound of a blast that the rescued workers said they had heard was probably the crane snapping and collapsing. This is our initial estimation. The Vizag Steel Plant management has already launched a probe,” the officer said.
Trade union leader J Ayodhya Ram of the CITU said, “Several workers were there underneath when the ladle fell. A few had just moved away minutes earlier for a break and escaped unharmed.” Ayodhya Ram, who was working at the plant when the incident took place, further said, “I just saw people rushing out and rushed out on my own.”
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Apart from the investigation initiated by the RINL, the Steel Ministry has constituted a three-member external enquiry, headed by the Director-in-Charge, Bokaro Steel Plant, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), to conduct an independent inquiry.
