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

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Visakhapatnam Steel Plant Tragedy: An injured being shifted to MGM Seven Hills Hospitals in Visakhapatnam on June 8, 2026. | Photo Credit: V. Raju

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

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.

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.

Five injured workers from the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant accident have been taken to private hospitals, the 108 service's district manager M. Suresh said.One has 90% burns, two have 40% and one 10%. Five ambulances are on standby and rescue work continues.Video: @Harish_Gilaipic.twitter.com/uLpFaJ4HhA

The police said the molten metal was at about 1,600 degrees Celsius. The toll was yet to be officially confirmed.

Andhra Pradesh Chief M