NHRC Takes Suo Motu Cognizance Of Workers’ Death

New Delhi: India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was quick to take cognizance of a media report stating that nine workers died and at least six others suffered serious burn injuries following an explosion at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant in Andhra Pradesh on June 8, 2026.

Reportedly, the labor union alleged that management ignored safety protocols. The Commission issued a notification to the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks. NHRC said the report will include the health status of injured workers and ex-gratia payments to victims and relatives of the deceased.

According to media reports, the incident occurred in the ‘Steel Melting Workshop’ of the facility when a ladle carrying approximately 150 tons of liquid steel at a temperature of approximately 1600°C suddenly exploded and the molten steel spilled onto the workshop floor, causing serious burn injuries to the workers.

Meanwhile, another incident sparked panic among workers when molten steel spilled from the crucible at the argon rinsing station in the Steel Melting Workshop-1 (SMS-1) section of the plant in the early hours of Thursday morning. However, luckily there was no one at the scene at the time of the incident.

This article is written by IIT Hyderabad student Yashwanth Rodda, who is interning at Deccan Chronicle.