Kantabania(Dhenkanal): Fortytwo foreign engineers, all Italian nationals, were on Sunday evacuated from Bhushan Steel plant at Kantabania because of security threat.
The engineers were working on construction of Blast Furnace-2, and the local district administration moved them out to Bhubaneswar because of rising security risks.
The Italian engineers were assembled at the Steel Plant colony guest house, brought to the main gate, and sent in an air-conditioned bus to Bhubaneswar, amidst tight security.
The engineers looked sad and panicky, and refused to speak to mediapersons.
A total of 74 foreign engineers were working in the steel plant. Till Sunday, 70 of them have been located by the local administration, and the status of the remaining four is being ascertained, said SP Dhenkanal Manoranjan Mohanty.
Most of the foreign engineers working here belonged to Italy, Germany, Ukraine, Korea, Austria, African countries, Turkey, China, Venezuela and Denmark.
The evacuation took place after local workers and residents bashed up several non-Odia employees alleging "stepmotherly treatment" towards locals by the Bhushan steel plant officials. Bhushan Steel authorities are yet to come out with a detailed response over such security risks to foreign nationals.
On Nov 13 a huge blast occured at Blast Furnace-2, and the number of casualties is yet to be ascertained by the state government. The steel company is yet to give the official casualty toll.
Even five days after the blast, the state government is yet to come out with detailed facts about casualties.
Three senior Bhushan Steel officials, President Mahipal Singh, CEO and factory manager Atulya Kumar Verma and shift incharge Navin Tyagi are presently in Hindol jail.
Police has not sought custody of these officials in order to ascertain the exact death toll.
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