Bhilai Steel Plant blast: CEO removed with immediate effect, two other officials suspended as toll rises to 11

Raipur: The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bilai Steel Plant was removed and two other senior officials were suspended on Wednesday, a day after a blast at the plant which claimed the lives of 11 employees. This was stated by Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh after visiting the injured employees of the plant at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Hospital in Bhilai town, located around 30 km from Raipur. [caption id=“attachment_5345141” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Blast at Bhilai steel plant. Image sourced from 101 Reporters[/caption] On Tuesday, nine people had died and 14 others were injured in the gas pipeline blast at the plant of the state-owned Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in Durg district. Of the 14 injured people admitted to the burns unit of the Jawahar Lal Nehru Hospital in Bhilai, two succumbed on Tuesday late night, a public relations officer of the Bhilai Steel Plant earlier told PTI. CEO M Ravi has been removed with immediate affect while General Manager (safety department) T Pandya Raja and Deputy General Manager (energy department) Naveen Kumar have been suspended, Birender Singh told reporters. Earlier, Inspector General of Police (Durg Range) GP Singh had said that after receiving the postmortem report of the deceased, a case under the Indian Penal Code Section 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) will be registered followed by an inquiry into the incident. Union Minister of State for Steel Vishnudeo Sai had said Tuesday that a four-member high-level committee was constituted by SAIL to probe the incident. The explosion had taken place in the gas pipeline connected to the coke oven section of the plant during a maintenance job, the SAIL had said.