Six die in gas leakage in Andhra steel plant
Vijayawada, July 12 : Six workers died and two others were taken ill in a gas leakage at a multinational steel company in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district on Thursday evening, police said.
The incident occurred in Gerdau Steel plant on the outskirts of Tadipatri town.
The gas leakage occurred in furnace wing of the plant. Eight of the workers collapsed after inhaling the gas while others managed to escape in time.
Eye witnesses said two workers died on the spot. Six others were shifted to nearby hospital, where four workers succumbed.
The deceased have been identified as B. Ranganath, 21, K. Manoj, 24, S.A. Wasim, 39, U. Gangadhar, 37, Guravaiah, 40, and K Siva Maddileti alias Lingaiah, 26.
Gerdau Steel, one of the largest steel companies worldwide, said it had suspended operations at the unit and will resume only after an extensive safety inspection.
"Gerdau sadly informs that an accident occurred at its Tadipatri steel plant, in India, this evening, resulting in six causalties. Gerdau immediately provided medical assistance and the workers were sent to the local hospital," the company said in a brief statement.
"The company is assisting the family of the victims and is working to determine the cause of the accident. The company is also extending all cooperation to local authorities," it added.
Gerdau is the leading producer of long steel in the Americas and one of the largest suppliers of special long steel in the world. It has more than 45,000 employees and industrial operations in 14 countries, according to the information on its website.
The plant in Andhra was Gerdau's first in Asia and it has capacity to produce 300,000 tons of special steel per year.
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UP: Passenger falls to death while spitting 'paan' from moving bus
Sultanpur (UP), Nov 30: A 45-year-old passenger fell to his death from an air-conditioned Uttar Pradesh roadways bus allegedly after he opened its door to spit 'pann' as the vehicle moved through the Purvanchal Expressway here on Saturday, police said.
The incident took place on the 93-km milestone of the expressway around 10.30 am when the bus was en route to Lucknow from Azamgarh.
"As the bus reached near Bihi village in the Baldirai police station area, a passenger opened the door of the moving bus to spit. He lost balance and fell onto the road, resulting in his death. He had opened the door to spit 'paan'," a police official said.
"The bus was stopped immediately, and Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) officials along with the police were informed," the official said.
Baldirai Station House Officer (SHO) Dheeraj Kumar said that UPEIDA personnel rushed the victim to the local Community Health Centre via ambulance, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
"The deceased was identified as Ram Jiavan, a resident of Chinhat area in Lucknow. His wife, Savitri, was also travelling with him on the bus," Kumar said.
He added that the bus has been taken to the police station for further investigation and the body has been sent for post-mortem.
