At least sixteen workers have died and 90 to 100 injured, 10 of them seriously, in an accident at NTPC’s 1,050 MW thermal power plant in Rae Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.

“In NTPC Unchahar, Unit Number 6 at around 3.30 pm, there was sudden abnormal sound at 20 metres elevation and there was opening in corner number 2 from which hot flue gases and steam escaped, affecting the people working around the area,” NTPC said in a statement.

News agencies PTI and ANI quoted UP ADGP (Law and Order) Anand Kumar as saying that four bodies have been recovered.

Around 70 people were rushed to NTPC hospital. Most of them were discharged after first-aid. About 10 persons with serious injuries have been referred to nearby hospitals and to Lucknow, the NTPC statement added.

In a statement, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh to the families of the deceased, ₹50,000 for the grievously injured and ₹25,000 for other injured workers.

The first unit of 210 MW of the Unchahar project was commissioned in November 1988 while the fifth and last unit of 210 MW was commissioned in September 2006.

Power from the project is supplied to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttranchal according to NTPC’s website.