Chhattisgarh: One killed in storage tank explosion at NTPC plant in Bilaspur

An employee was killed in an explosion of a demonstration machine's storage tank at a plant of government-run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district on Wednesday, officials said.

The incident took place this afternoon in the NTPC's Sipat plant when testing of a demo machine was underway, a plant official said.

''During the testing exercise, the storage tank of the machine exploded due to air pressure causing serious injuries on the head of junior technician Narendra Kumar Mishra (42) leading to his death,'' he added.

The body of Mishra, a native of Devri village located near Sipat, was shifted to the hospital in the plant premises and his family members were informed, the official said.

The NTPC management has constituted a team to probe the incident, he added.

After the incident came to light, the workers of plant and local residents staged a protest in front of the plant and accused the NTPC management of negligence leading to the incident and covering up the mishap, said Harish Tandekar, Station House Officer (SHO) of Sipat Police station.

They also demanded a job to the kin of the deceased on compassionate ground.

However, the plant management said there was no provision of such an appointment after 2018.