“A ton of liquid steel at 1,500 degrees then spilled out.” Three people were injured, including two seriously, during an incident in a factory of the steelmaker Novasco (formerly Ascometal) in Hagondange, in Moselle, we learned on Tuesday from the firefighters and the company. The local newspapers speak of an “explosion”.
The incident occurred on Monday around 9:30 p.m. when a bag of molten metal fell, firefighters said. “During continuous casting, a pocket drawer opened. A ton of liquid steel at 1,500 degrees then spilled out,” he told France 3 Lorraine a factory employee.
Two seriously injured people and one lightly injured person were rescued. Their vital prognosis is not engaged, according to firefighters. Novasco confirmed in a press release the occurrence of a “major accident” at the Hagondange steelworks, during which “three employees were seriously injured” and taken “to the burn unit of Mercy, near Metz”.
“We are doing everything we can to determine the causes of this serious accident. The installation was secured by fire crews and services. The latter, accompanied by an expert, were able to note the absence of any risk of contamination or pollution both for the employees present and for those surrounding the factory,” explains Novasco.
“An investigation is now underway and the steelworks will remain shut down for the duration of the analysis,” it added. A medico-psychological emergency unit has been set up on the Hagondange site. “In these difficult circumstances, our priority is to support the victims and do everything to understand the exact causes of last night’s events,” Novasco said.
Formerly Ascometal, the Hagondange factory was renamed Novasco in September, a few months after the purchase of Ascometal in July by the British fund Greybull Capital, a specialist in the recovery of companies in difficulty. This factory employs around 450 people.
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