by Peerzada Arshad Hamid
NEW DELHI, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in a boiler blast in northern state of Uttar Pradesh of India has risen to 20, as rescuers from national disaster response force (NDRF) and police are continuing search for the missing ones in the wake of the blast, police said Thursday.
Over 100 others injured in the blast are undergoing treatment at different hospitals.
"Total number of casualties could go up once the blades of boiler are cut," a police spokesman said.
Some media reports put the death toll at 25.
"Twenty-five people were reported dead and over 100 injured when a blast took place at NTPC's thermal power plant at Unchahar in Rae Bareli district on Wednesday," a New Delhi based television news channel News18 said.
The blast took place Wednesday inside the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) plant at Unchahar Raibareli, about 110 km southeast of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh.
According to a senior police official Anand Kumar, the pressure inside the ash pipe triggered the blast of the boiler.
"It's believed that accumulation of ash inside pipe and furnace of the boiler exploded due to pressure at the power plant," Kumar said.
About 150 workers were said to be present inside the plant when the blast took place.
The victims are said to be workers employed in the power plant.
The power plant has been operating for the past 30 years.
Reports said the blast triggered a massive fire, following which the plant was shut down.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "deeply pained" by the accident.
"Deeply pained by the accident at the NTPC plant in Raebareli. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover quickly. The situation is being closely monitored and officials are ensuring normalcy is restored," Modi wrote on Twitter.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is currently on a three-day visit to Mauritius, has directed state's top officials to send all possible help for the victims.
He has also announced ex gratia relief of 3,095 U.S. dollars for each family that has lost its member in the accident.
He also announced seriously injured persons would be provided with an assistance of 773 U.S. dollars each, while as those with minor injuries would get 387 U.S. dollars each.
The NTPC plant is a secured facility and entry is restricted to employees only. The power plant is guarded by paramilitary India's Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), a paramilitary wing mandated to provide security to major installations of India like nuclear installations, space establishments, airports, seaports, power plants and sensitive buildings, etc.
Authorities have ordered a probe into the explosion and the reasons that led to accumulation of ash in pipe and the furnace of the boiler.
The NTPC, in a statement, described the incident as "unfortunate."
According to the NTPC, the blast took place in the boiler of 500 MW under trial unit.
Meanwhile, the opposition leader from Congress party Rahul Gandhi would be visiting Raebareli to meet the victims.
In India, coal power plants form the backbone of electricity generation. However, experts say many are overdue for replacement.
