At lest 25 people were crushed to death when an under construction chimney at a new power plant being constructed at Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) in the town Korba in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, collapsed last Wdnesday afternoon. Tens of worker got trapped in the debris. Officials say that s chimney caved in on the workers during construction work at a thermal power plant. Sources quating witnesses said lightning struck the under-construction chimney at about 4 pm, bringing down the huge concrete structure. More than 100 labourers had been engaged in the work when it had begun to rain. The structure collapsed on a store room where workers had taken shelter from the rain.
Balco is a unit of London Stock Exchange-listed Vedanta Plc, whose activities are mostly in India. The company is setting up a 1,200-Mw power plant at its aluminium facility. Sepco, a Chinese company, had bagged the award for the power plant, while GDCL was constructing the 275-metre chimney. The power plant was part of a mega expansion plan. The company was expanding annual capacity by 650,000 tonnes. At present, the company produces 350,000 tpa of aluminium. On completion the capacity will be a million tonnes a year, making Balco the worlds largest producer of aluminium from a single location.
“It´s a massive accident,” Ratanlal Dangi, district superintendent of police, told Reuters news agency. “We have retrieved 20 bodies so far. Still many more are trapped under the collapsed chimney´s debris. Massive rescue and relief operations are under way.”
Waiting for news
Rescue workers are expected to work through the night to try and reach those still trapped underneath the rubble. They are being helped by other construction workers as well as local residents. The families of many missing workers have gatherd at the site waitnig anxiously for word of their relatives. It is still not clear what caused the accident. All the reports say the area has been experiencing heavy rain and storms.
Unconfirmed reports said angry workers then thrashed an employee of the construction company to death,Wether the lynched employee, whose body was found 300 meters from the site, was from Sepco or GDCL could not be confirmed. It appears officials and employees from both companies had fled from the spot. Sources said workers were refusing to allow the bodies to be shifted from the site till the management announced adequate compensation.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said a judicial investigation had been ordered into the accident. He also announced compensation for the victims. State officials said the management of the company building the plant are likely to face charges. The Balco management refused to comment, saying everyone was busy in the rescue. An official said all seniors had been told to join in the operation.
A recent report by the UN´s International Labour Organization said that nearly 50,000 Indians die from work-related accidents or illness every year.