Death Toll in Vedanta Power Plant Explosion Rises to 24

Raipur: The death toll from the devastating explosion at the Vedanta power plant in Shakti district, Chhattisgarh, has climbed to 24 after a worker from Jharkhand, who had been undergoing treatment at Raigarh Medical College for six days, succumbed to his injuries on Sunday morning. Around twelve workers remain hospitalised, with three in a critical condition, according to hospital authorities.

Two more workers had died on Saturday — Subrata Kumar Jana from West Bengal and Upendra Sah from Jharkhand, both of whom had suffered burns to over 90 per cent of their bodies. The April 14 explosion occurred at the plant in Singitarai village when a high-pressure steel pipe carrying steam from the boiler to the turbine burst catastrophically. Four workers died on the spot, with the remaining fatalities occurring over subsequent days in various hospitals. The dead include workers from West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh.

Police have registered cases against eight to ten officials, including Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal and plant head Devendra Patel, under provisions relating to death by negligence and failure in the handling of machinery.

A preliminary technical investigation has found that excessive fuel accumulation inside the boiler furnace caused a dangerous build-up of pressure, triggering the explosion. There are also indications that the plant had reported multiple technical faults over the past year, and had even been temporarily shut down just ten days before the blast due to a malfunction — findings that the forensic laboratory team has corroborated. The pattern of prior failures has deepened suspicions of systematic negligence in the plant's maintenance and safety protocols.