The toll in the accident which occurred in the cooling tower of Visakha refinery of the HPCL here last week rose to 18 on Thursday, with four more workers succumbing to burn injuries in various hospitals.
According to a HPCL press release, M. Malakondaiah (46), M. Manmadha Reddy (46), Ramana (40) and Y.V Satya Rao (27) died here in hospitals on Thursday.
The cleaning of debris at the accident site is in progress and is expected to be completed in a week’s time. Burns specialist Keswani visited the hospitals where the injured are undergoing treatment to take stock of their condition. Currently, 18 workers are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in the city and 8 were taken to Mumbai for treatment at the National Burns Centre. The condition of the 8 in Mumbai is reported to be stable.
Another cheque for Rs 1.2 crore was handed over on Thursday to the district collector for handing over to the dependants of the dead workers. Compensation amounting to Rs 2 crore was earlier handed over to the collector.