NTPC horror tales: Eyewitnesses recall abnormal sound, huge ball of dust, fire, charred bodies

NTPC workers claim temperatures near the furnace at Unit 6 was steadily rising. Few had forewarned about an "impending" disaster.

Raebareli: On Wednesday afternoon, life went on as usual at Unit 6 in National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)'s Unchahar plant. 

At around 3:30 pm, a “sudden abnormal sound” emerged. Immediately after, dark bellows of gas and steam were seen escaping into the sky. 

"I heard a deafening sound and saw fire," said eyewitness Rakesh Pandey, who was at a nearby tea-stall.

The explosion triggered panic. Workers, inside and outside the unit ran helter-skelter, trying to escape the massive fire and smoke.

“There were bodies all around Unit 6,” recalls Pandey. 

The injured were in critical condition, with scalded body parts caused by hot ash and steam.

Those present at the accident site claim the explosion was so powerful that employees had little chance to save themselves. 

By 7 pm, charred bodies of workers, way beyond recognition, were being recovered from Unit 6.

The first accident report stated five people dead and at least 40 injured. But authorities knew the numbers were just beginning to come forward. 

Within 14 hours, the death toll climbed to 26. Over 100 employees were injured. 

As the fire spread inside accompanied by a huge ball of dust post-explosion, rescue operations became increasingly difficult.

As of Thursday morning, several are still feared trapped inside the factory unit.

What happened at NTPC Unchahar's Unit 6 on November 1?

According to official accounts, the blast took place after a boiler tube exploded at the unit. "The ash-pipe exploded due to pressure at NTPC plant in Raebareli," said the District Magistrate. 

Inside the power plant unit, exists a boiler which is filled with water in tubes which are heated. This, in turn, creates steam which moves the turbines and generates electricity. The explosion was caused by the ash which got deposited on the furnace and triggered a massive blast.

"Ash had piled up in the furnace beneath the boiler, which then led to building up of pressure resulting in the explosion," senior state police official Anand Kumar.

Explaining the chain of events, NTPC – India`s largest power producer and a Forbes 500 company – released the following statement:

“In NTPC Unchahar, Unit No. 6 at around 1530 hrs on 01.11.2017 there was sudden abnormal sound at 20 mt. elevation and there was opening in corner no.2 from which hot flue gases and steam escaped affecting the people working around the area.”

Irresponsible authorities?

The 1,550-megawatt (MW) plant in the town of Unchahar supplies electricity to nine states. The unit was the sixth at NTPC and was commissioned on March 31 this year. The 500MW unit was still in trial phase, operating since April.

Immediately after the accident, local authorities, National Disaster Response Force unit rushed to the spot. A team of senior NTPC officials rushed to the site to aid the rescue operations. Two companies of PAC was also deployed.

But insiders say, all this could have been avoided.

Workers claim temperatures near the furnace at Unit 6 was steadily rising. Few had forewarned the concerned authorities about an "impending" disaster.

Insiders, refusing to come on board, told IANS that said that many dead labourers killed in the blast might still be inside, their bodies buried under the very hot ash that has covered the entire area. 

Angry locals and family members of the injured claim there was complete lack of medical facilities at the NTPC campus, which led to the spike in the number of casualties.  On Thursday morning, contractual labourers started raising slogans against the NTPC management. 

The Unchahar sub-division is around 40 km away from the main town of Raebareli.

The injured were rushed to Raebareli, few later shifted to Lucknow and Allahabad hospitals. More than 50 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the fire and 100 ambulances, private and government, helped ferry the injured. 

Political turf

Raebareli, the Lok Sabha constituency Congress President Sonia Gandhi, is about 110 kms away from Lucknow. Her son and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi rushed to the site on Thursday morning. 

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of those killed, Rs 50,000 each to those seriously injured, and Rs 25,000 each to those with less grave injuries. All the injured would be given free treatment at government hospitals, he added.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya visited the Civil hospital at night to inquire about the injured. PM Modi took to Twitter to offer condolences.

Senior ministers - Suresh Khanna and Swamy Prasad Maurya - have been rushed to the site to oversee and coordinate relief and rescue operations, a government official said.

NTPC officials said that the number of casualties could go up once the blades of the boiler are cut and the team of experts is able to go inside. 

A probe has been ordered.

Taking a dig at the BJP government, suspended Janata Dal (United) leader Ali Anwar said, "They have saffronised everything in the state. Had the NTPC power plant saffron in colour, the mishap would not have happened at all." 

With agency inputs