Skip to main content

Boiler explosion at power plant in India kills at least 9 workers, 15 injured

PATNA, India (AP) — An explosion at a privately-owned power plant in India ’s central Chhattisgarh state on Tuesday killed at least nine workers and injured 15 others, police said.

The blast occurred in a boiler tube at a power plant operated by Vedanta Limited, in Chhattisgarh state’s Sakti district, senior police officer Praful Thakur said. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.

Officials said rescue teams were searching the blast site for any trapped workers.

In a statement, the plant’s management said its immediate priority was to provide medical care to those affected and that it was working closely with local authorities. It added that an investigation had been opened into the cause of the blast.

Chhattisgarh state’s Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai described the incident as “extremely tragic” and said authorities were providing assistance to the families of those killed.

Industrial accidents are common in India and often blamed on people flouting safety norms, as well as lax inspections by government officials.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
Read Next Story

Related News

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

Police warn families of Tiananmen crackdown dead not to visit graves on 37th anniversary

Women are the first caregivers in this Ebola outbreak and the most at risk