Six dead, 28 injured in blast at AP plant

Six workers died and over 30 workers were injured when a fire broke out in cooling towers in the expansion phase of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) refinery-cum-petrochemical complex on Friday in the port city of Visakhapatnam, 400 kilometres from here.

Sources say that the toll could go up as many people are still trapped inside.

The police said the fire broke out in a wooden cooling tower at the state-owned oil refinery.
Sources said that more than hundred workers were present at the site when the mishap occurred. Injured workers were shifted to the Naval Hospital INHS Kalyani, located just opposite the HPCL main gate.

The state government has ordered an inquiry into the incident and directed the district collector and police commissioner to take up relief and rescue measures.

Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu conveyed their sympathies to the bereaved families.

The Visakhapatnam plant is one of the two Hindustan Petroleum refineries in India, the other being in Mumbai.

In May, this year a major blast had rocked the refinery. The blast was allegedly triggered by a short circuit in the crude oil unit of the refinery.