Tamil Nadu boiler blast: NLC announces `30 lakh compensation for kin of deceased

CHENNAI: Compensation of Rs 30 lakh and Rs 5 lakh was announced on Thursday for the kin of those who died and injured, in a boiler blast at Neyveli thermal power plant in Tamil Nadu.

The compensation was announced today by the central government-owned Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited (NLCIL) after the explosion in one of its boilers at the power plant on Wednesday. Six people died and 17 suffered burn injuries in the blast that took place in Cuddalore, about 180 km from state capital Chennai. This is the second blast at the power plant in two months.

“The boiler was not in operation. We are investigating the incident,” R Vikraman, one of the directors of the power plant, said. “Among the sixteen injured, six are regular employees and 10 are contract workers. We are collecting details of those who died,” he added. Expressing his Condolenceon the deaths, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced a relief of Rs 3 lakh for families of deceased, Rs 1 lakh for the severely injured and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries.

In May, eight workers at the power plant suffered burn injuries in a similar incident. The workers, who were injured in the boiler blast, included both regular and contractual employees. The company generates 3,940-megawatt electricity. The plant where the blast took place accounts for 1,470 megawatts. The company employs 27,000, including 15,000 contractual workers.

Several deaths linked to accidents at industrial units have been reported in the last two months.

On Monday, two people were killed and four were hospitalised after gas leaked at the Visakhapatnam unit of the firm Sainor Life Sciences.

In May, 11 people, including two young children, were killed and over 1,000 were hospitalised after gas leaked overnight at the LG Polymers facility in Vizag. The incident was compared by many to the 1984 Bhopal Gas leak, one of the worst industrial disasters in history when gas leaked from a pesticide plant operated by Union Carbide and killed over 3,500.