New Delhi - Six workers died in a poisonous gas leak at a
Brazilian-owned steel plant in India's southern state of Andhra
Pradesh on Thursday, police said.
The accident occurred following maintenance work at the unit in the
Anantapuramu district.
"While testing, they used a gas in the furnace that had large
components of carbon monoxide that the workers inhaled and died,"
senior police official GVG Ashok Kumar said by phone.
Two workers died on the scene, while four others died at the
hospital, he said.
Police denied local media reports that said more workers were in
serious condition after the accident.
The steel mill belongs to Brazilian firm Gerdau, a leading producer
of long steel products in the American subcontinent.
Repeated phone calls to company officials went unanswered. State
authorities have ordered a probe into the accident, police said.