Vedanta plant blast in India's Chhattisgarh kills 17, injures 36

The cause of the explosion has not been immediately identified

A bird flies past the logo of Vedanta installed on the facade of its headquarters in Mumbai, India Jan 31, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

At least 17 people died and 36 others were injured following a suspected boiler explosion at a power plant operated by India's Vedanta Ltd in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, a government official said on Wednesday.

Operations at the 600MW coal plant were suspended after the blast, senior administration official Amrit Vikas Topno told Reuters.

The incident took place on Tuesday at Singhitarai, about 230km (143 miles) away from the state capital of Raipur.

The shutdown of the plant comes as India is poised for a harsher summer. The government has delayed the maintenance of nearly 10 gigawatt of coal plant capacity in the absence of gas supplies due to the Mideast conflict.

The blast was likely caused by overheating in the boiler tube, District Superintendent of Police PK Thakur told Reuters.

In a statement, Vedanta said an "unfortunate incident" had occurred at its Singhitarai plant and that a thorough investigation is underway to determine the cause.

Vedanta said that NTPC GE Power Services operates and maintains the plant.

Vedanta acquired the 1,200MW coal power plant through a bankruptcy process in 2022. Only 600MW of the plant has been operational.