UK News 09-11-2001 Investigation Begins Into Massive Steelworks Explosion who: Welsh Accident Investigators what: Pick through the debris of Corus steelworks after fatal explosion where: PORT TALBOT when: This morning snippet: One steelworker died yesterday and 13 others were seriously injured in the accident, in which "an escape of molten iron occurred at blast furnace number five and caused the explosion," reports this morning`s Guardian. Firefighters searching for one man still missing say tonnes of molten steel have made the process of searching the area extremely difficult. A spokeswoman for the ambulance service, quoted in the Independent, said last night that 18 workers, thought to be contractors working on the furnace, had been taken to nearby hospitals. "The casualties are suffering from burns, and many are very severe," she added. "We have up to 10 ambulances on the scene, and are doing what we can on the spot. It is a very serious situation." Perhaps inadvertantly accusing Corus of neglect, Clive Owen, a local councillor, said the furnace affected had been due to be relined in 2004 and contractors had been working on it as an interim measure. "They were going to be relining it in a couple of years and I think they were patching it up," he said in the Independent. The Port Talbot plant has a workforce of about 3,000, explains Richard Smith in the Mirror. "In a recent round of job cuts, Corus kept the plant open as it is viewed as one of the most efficient in Europe. It is still seen as one of Britain`s leading steel-making centres." Local Plaid Cymru councillor Del Morgan said: "Everyone in the area will know people there. This could well have an economic impact, but at the moment our thoughts are with the people affected and their families." [... more]

What The Papers Say is delivered to thousands of readers every morning by web, WAP and email. Sign up today!