A fatal industrial accident at India's Visakhapatnam Steel Plant killed eight workers and injured six others on June 8, 2026, when a sudden explosion during a steel casting operation sent a fireball to the ceiling height of the facility and set an overhead crane ablaze, in one of the most serious incidents at the state-owned plant in recent memory.

According to a press release by India’s Ministry of Steel, the accident occurred at approximately 4:15 p.m. at Caster 2 of Steel Melt Shop 1, operated by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited(RINL), the central public sector enterprise that runs the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant under India's Ministry of Steel.

The explosion took place at the moment before a slide gate was to be opened to transfer molten crude steel from a ladle into a tundish, a standard step in the continuous casting process, when a severe blast erupted without warning. An overhead crane caught fire as a result of the incident. The six injured workers were admitted to hospital and were undergoing treatment at the time of reporting.

RINL has initiated an internal investigation into the cause of the explosion. Separately, India's Ministry of Steel constituted a three-member external enquiry committee headed by the Director-in-Charge of Steel Authority of India Limited's(NSE:SAIL) Bokaro Steel Plant to conduct an independent inquiry into the accident. India's Steel Minister travelled to the RINL facility to meet the injured workers and inspect the accident site.