At least 12 killed, many injured in at NTPC unit Rae Bareli

Lucknow: At least twelve persons were feared dead and close to hundred injured in an explosion at a boiler unit of the NTPC in Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli district on Wednesday evening, police said.

It is said that around 40 to 50 people received burn injuries and condition of some of them is critical. All of them were rushed to hospitals for immediate treatment.

The death toll is likely to rise as many more are feared trapped inside the 500 MW unit boiler at the NTPC, Unchahar.

ADG Kumar said that all available ambulances were pressed into action and the additional district magistrate and the additional superintendent of police were on the spot to supervise relief and rescue operations.

A massive fire broke out inside and a huge ball of dust rose after the explosion, making rescue operations difficult, an official said.

The unit was the sixth at NTPC and was commissioned on March 31 this year, a senior official said.

An alert has been sounded at the community health centre (CHC), district hospital and at other medical centers, after the accident.

Officials said the explosion took place in the boiler which is filled with water in tubes which are heated. This in turn creates steam which moves the turbines and generates electricity.