Kumaraswamy announces ₹25 lakh and a job for kin of Visakhapatnam steel plant blast victims

Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H. D. Kumaraswamy arrived in Visakhapatnam around 1 a.m. on Tuesday (June 9, 2026) to review the situation after an accident at the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) Visakhapatnam steel plant that killed eight workers and injured six others.

On arrival, Mr. Kumaraswamy held discussions with senior RINL management and local officials to assess the accident and the relief work under way.

He later visited KIMS Hospital at Sheelanagar, where the injured are being treated, asked about their condition and directed the hospital to give them the best care.

Mr. Kumaraswamy offered condolences to the families of the dead, and said the government would stand by the affected families.

“The safety and welfare of our workers in the steel sector remain paramount. We are ensuring a thorough investigation and will take all necessary steps to strengthen safety protocols across our operations to prevent such incidents in the future,” he said.

Relief and rehabilitation

Mr. Kumaraswamy announced ex-gratia of ₹25 lakh for the next of kin of each worker killed, in addition to their admissible terminal benefits. The Ministry also promised a permanent job to one eligible member of each family.

For the six injured workers, he announced ₹10 lakh each, and said RINL would meet all their medical expenses.

The company would also support the education of the children of the dead and the injured, and continue welfare and rehabilitation help for the families.

Independent inquiry

RINL has begun an internal inquiry into the technical failure. The Ministry of Steel has set up a three-member independent inquiry committee headed by the Director-in-Charge of SAIL’s Bokaro Steel Plant. The committee will find the exact cause of the accident and recommend steps to improve safety at the plant.

Incident background

The accident occurred around 4.15 p.m. on Monday (June 8, 2026), during operations at Caster-2 of Steel Melt Shop-1. Preliminary reports indicate that, as workers were preparing to pour hot crude steel from a ladle into the tundish, a severe explosion occurred before the slide gate could be opened. The blast set off a fire that engulfed Overhead Crane-2, causing the deaths and injuries. The molten steel, at over 1,500°C, made the rescue very difficult.