Ballari: Explosion at BTPS oxygen plant; 3 workers injured

Ballari: An explosion tore through the oxygen plant at Bellary Thermal Power Station (BTPS) here on Friday. Three workers were injured in the mishap, two of whom are said to be critical.

The blast was attributed to an explosion in electrical switchgear at around 7.30 PM on Friday. The exploded panel tore off a set of oxygen pipelines and a fireball erupted, sources said.

The 750MW super critical boiler power plant at the BTPS has the capacity to generate oxygen. The oxygen generation was installed, with a grant of Rs 6.5 crore, when BS Yediyurappa was the state’s chief minister. However, the plant was not fully operational; it was still in the experimental stage.

Sources within the BTPS  confirmed that three workers who were working at the plant at the time were injured in the accident, two of them were critical.

The names and addresses of the injured were not immediately known. However, it is learnt that the three are contract labourers.