Mishap in RTPS injures seven

RAICHUR: Seven persons were injured, two of them seriously, in an accident at Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS) on Wednesday.The seven were injured when hot ash from the bottom ash hopper accidentally gushed out at the second Unit of RTPS.Jindavali and Narasappa were seriously injured and they have been sent to Hyderabad for further treatment.The others have been admitted to a local hospital. The ash formed during coal burning in the boiler is collected in the bottom ash hopper.There, water is mixed with it to make it slurry and sent to ash ponds. This process is called deashing. At about 8.30 am, while the deashing process was in motion, slag had formed, according to sources.While the workers in the section were attempting to poke the outlet window to ensure felling ash to the bottom ash hopper, the ID fan reportedly tripped.This led to the failure of the negative pressure in the boiler. Immediately, the hot ash gushed out and fell on the workers. According to sources, the second unit was stopped soon after the incident. The engineers attempted to restart it and it lit up by evening. It is expected that the unit will be synchronised by midnight.