Uttar Pradesh NTPC blast: Burn victim brought to Safdarjung Hospital succumbs to injuries; death toll rises to 36

New Delhi/Lucknow: A NTPC boiler blast victim, brought to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi after suffering extensive burns in the accident in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli, died on Saturday as his condition deteriorated, said hospital officials. The toll has now risen to 36. Identifying the deceased as Santosh Kumar, 40, a senior doctor from the hospital said he had suffered 90 percent burns. Santosh Kumar was among the nine injured brought to the Safdarjung Hospital in the first lot late on Thursday. Later three more injured during the incident were admitted to the hospital’s burns ICU. [caption id=“attachment_4188571” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Smoke billowing out of NTPC’s Unchahar Power Plant where a blast took place in a boiler, in Raebareli district on Wednesday. PTI[/caption] At the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), six patients suffering burn injuries during the incident have been admitted. Most of them have suffered extreme facial injuries. In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who returned from his Mauritius visit earlier on Saturday, met the injured in the blast. Visiting the injured at the King George’s Medical University, the Civil Hospital and the Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, he enquired from the doctors about the condition of the severely injured labourers and directed doctors to ensure that they got the best treatment. The chief minister also asked officials accompanying him to ensure that the ex-gratia to the families of the dead and financial assistance for the injured reaches them promptly and without any hassle. The massive explosion took place in state-owned power plant’s Unchahar town unit on the Lucknow-Allahabad Highway on Tuesday. Many were trapped when the boiler burst and a huge ball of dust rose, making the rescue operations difficult.