IFFCO silo collapses, 25 injured

PARADIP: At least 25  workers were injured, 11 of them seriously, when the roof of a silo caved in at an Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative Limited (IFFCO) plant in Paradip on Monday. Fire brigade, ambulance and emergency service personnel from IFFCO, Paradip Port Trust and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) were pressed into service for rescue and debris clearance operations. Rescue operation was undertaken with temporary lighting arrangements made in the silo.  The critically injured workers were shifted to private hospitals in Cuttack, while the rest were admitted to nearby hospitals for treatment. IFFCO unit’s Executive Director M R Patel said the silo was properly maintained and must have caved in due to rapid corrosion in view of its proximity to the sea.