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Blasts at Sterlite plant kill 2 workers

Two contract workers were killed on the spot and one worker sustained injuries in a series of explosions which ripped apart the end cover of a furnace at the controversial Rs 13 billion Sterlite copper shelter plant in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, on Saturday night.

The deceased, both aged 30, have been identified as Perumal of Tirunelveli and Shankar of Tuticorin. Their bodies were completely burnt as the skeletons only came out of the furnace, along with the smelted metal.

The injured contract worker, Lawrence, was admitted to a private hospital where his condition was stated to be out of danger.

The Sipcot police have registered a case against the Sterlite management under Sections 337, 338, and 304A of the Indian Penal Code.

Sterlite Senior Vice-President H Jalan said that four blasts were heard within 30 seconds of each other around 2200 hours on August 30. The blasts could be heard several kilometres away from the Sipcot complex, where the plant is located.

He said the blasts had occurred in the vicinity of a rotary holding horizontal furnace, where smelted copper was being temporarily stored for settling. No chemical processing occurred in the furnace, he added.

The Sterlite management maintained that there was no chemical rationale behind the blast, which, it suspected, was an act of sabotage. The plant's telephone operator, Judy Fernando, had received an anonymous call at 1100 hours on Saturday saying that four bombs kept in the plant would explode during the day, the management said.

The Sterile management said it had requested the Sipcot police to carry out a detailed investigation to ascertain the nature of the blasts.

The furnace had suffered extensive damage due to the blasts.

According to reports, residents in the nearby localities of Milavittan and Thattapparai complained or irritation in the eyes and breathing difficulty immediately after the explosion.

It may be recalled here that Sterlite plant was in a controversy recently when an alleged gas leak from the plant on July 12 affected 100 workers of a nearby factory, Ramesh Flowers. However, the state government cleared the Sterlite company of any wrongdoing and the plant resumed operations on August 14.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Sterlite People's Struggle committee has urged the Union government to order an immediate shutdown of the plant and take criminal action against the Sterlite management.

Condemning the management's claim that the blasts were due to sabotage, National Forum of Environment Protection convener G Anton Gomes urged the state and Union governments to close down the plant. The Sterlite management should be asked to give compensation to the families of the victims, he added.

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary V Gopalsamy has urged the Tamil Nadu government to order a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the blast. He threatened to file a case in court if the state government fails to do so.

He termed as "wrong" the Sterlite management's claim that the blast occurred due to sabotage and said the they occurred due to a chemical reaction.

EARLIER REPORTS:
Sterlite resumes operations
Gas leak: Is the guilty Sterlite or Ramesh Flowers

UNI