Death toll in HPCL Visakhapatnam unit rises to 4

Fire broke out at a cooling tower,resulting in massive explosion.

The death toll rose to four in last evening’s massive fire at HPCL refinery-cum-petrochemical complex at Visakhapatnam with two workers succumbing to burn injuries early on Saturday,sources in the PSU said.

The two succumbed while undergoing treatment at Seven Hills Hospital. Thirty-six injured workers were being treated in various corporate hospitals in the city,they said.

Around half a dozen of them have received more than 70 per cent burns and are said to be in critical condition.

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The blaze started in the sprawling complex at around 4 pm,killing two workers. As per preliminary reports,the fire broke out due to blasting of cooling tower due to a short-circuit,the sources said.

The deceased were identified as Murali,A Apparao,A Srinivasa Rao and Manojeet Pradhan. A majority of the workers operating at the cooling tower belonged a private firm.

Union Minister of State for Petroleum Panabaka Lakshmi visited the fire-hit refinery on Saturday. She also went to the hospitals where the injured were undergoing treatment,and enquired about their condition.

The extent of damage to the refinery-cum-petrochemical complex is being ascertained.

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