Death toll in Bhilai steel plant gas tragedy rises to 7

The death toll in Thursday's poisonous gas leak incident in one of India's biggest steel plants in the central state of Chhattisgarh rose to seven Friday, with the recovery of two more bodies, a senior police official said.
"While seven people, including two top officials, have died after inhaling poisonous gas which leaked following an explosion in a pipeline at the state-owned Bhilai Steel Plant late last evening, 40 others are currently undergoing treatment at a local hospital where the condition of some are said to be critical," he said, on condition of anonymity on Friday.
The gas leak only not affected workers at the plant, but also harmed many working nearby in the plant premises, a statement issued by the authority of India-owned Bhilai Steel Plant said.
"Plant management is providing all possible care and support and efforts are on for an early liquidation from the breakdown. A high-level inquiry would be conducted to ascertain the cause of the breakdown and the management will extend all the support to the affected persons," the statement added.
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the tragedy and offered his condolences to the family of the victims.
The steel plant was set up in 1955 with help from the Soviet Union, and it is India's first and main producer of steel rails, as well as a major producer of wide steel plates and other steel products.
Gas leakages in factories are not uncommon in India.
More than 4,000 people had died in the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984, after inhaling poisonous gas which leaked from the Union Carbide pesticides plant in the central state of Madhya Pradesh's capital.