Eight workers were killed on Monday after molten metal fell on them at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalle district, reported PTI.

Around 20 workers were on duty when a ladle carrying liquid steel exploded in the Steel Melting Shop-1 unit at around 4.40 pm, The Hindu quoted unidentified officials at the plant as saying.

The blast caused a massive fire and spilt hundreds of tonnes of molten steel across the shop floor.

An unidentified police officer told the newspaper that the molten metal was at about 1,600 degrees Celsius.

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The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant is a public sector undertaking under the administrative control of the Union Ministry of Steel.

At least six workers suffered severe burn injuries and were admitted to hospital, The Hindu reported. The injured were identified as R Mallikharjuna Rao, P Srinivasa Rao, A Appa Rao, Satyanarayana, G Suribabu and Paidiraju.

In a social media post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was saddened by the accident and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of those who died. The workers who were injured will receive Rs 50,000 from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

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Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief and directed officials to undertake relief measures in coordination with all government departments.

HD Kumaraswamy, the Union steel minister, offered his condolences to the families of those who died and said he was “closely monitoring the situation”.

Former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy demanded a comprehensive investigation into the incident and said that strict action should be taken against those responsible.

He said there was a need to accord “utmost priority to worker safety in industrial facilities” and stressed that there should be no negligence in implementing safety standards, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party said on social media.

Edited by Sneha.