Visakhapatnam Steel Plant accident: eight feared dead in ladle blast, fire at SMS-1

Published 8 June 2026 · local

A major industrial accident struck the public sector Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL)-run Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) on Monday (June 8, 2026) evening, at about

A major industrial accident struck the public sector Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL)-run Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) on Monday (June 8, 2026) evening, at about 4.40 p.m., after a ladle carrying liquid steel exploded at Machine-2 of the Continuous Casting Department (CCD) in the Steel Melting Shop-1 (SMS-1) unit, official sources in the plant said. The blast triggered a massive fire and spilled hundreds of tonnes of molten steel across the shop floor. Eight workers are feared dead after molten steel fell on them at the RINL-Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) on Monday. The molten steel reportedly spilled from a ladle while the workers were working below. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/1uIms6RuC0 — The Hindu - Andhra Pradesh (@THAndhra) June 8, 2026 Preliminary reports indicate that the spillage caused severe burn injuries to several workers at the site. Eight are feared dead, and six others sustained serious injuries.

The injured were identified as R. Mallikharjuna Rao, P. Srinivasa Rao, A. Appa Rao, Satyanarayana, G. Suribabu and Paidiraju. They were admitted to corporate hospitals, including KIMS, Seven Hills, for emergency treatment. The bodies were taken to King George Hospital (KGH) for postmortem. Rescue under way Heavy smoke and flames trapped several workers on the shop floor. Fire tenders and rescue teams from the steel plant and State departments rushed to the spot and worked into the evening to put out the flames and rescue the trapped workers. Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh: The injured have been shifted to Seven Hills Hospital after an accident at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. pic.twitter.com/3jQgstaqrQ — IANS (@ians_india) June 8, 2026 The police said the molten metal was at about 1,600 degrees Celsius. The toll was yet to be officially confirmed. CM, Ministers respond Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.

Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock and grief over the tragedy. In a post on X, Mr. Naidu said he was distressed that several workers had lost their lives. విశాఖ స్టీల్ ప్లాంట్ లో జరిగిన ప్రమాదం నన్ను తీవ్ర దిగ్భ్రాంతికి గురి చేసింది. ఈ ప్రమాదంలో పలువురు కార్మికులు దుర్మరణం పాలయ్యారని తెలిసి కలత చెందాను. సంబంధిత అధికారులతో మాట్లాడి, అన్ని ప్రభుత్వ శాఖల సమన్వయంతో సహాయక చర్యలు చేపట్టాలని ఆదేశించాను. N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) June 8, 2026 Speaking to senior district and plant officials over the phone, Mr. Naidu reviewed the rescue operations and said he was pained by the reported loss of workers’ lives. He directed authorities to ensure coordination among all government departments to speed up rescue work and provide the best medical care to the injured. Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha, who was on an official tour in neighbouring Vizianagaram district when the accident happened, cut short her schedule and rushed to the steel plant in Visakhapatnam.