In a major accident at least 16 labourers were killed and 100 including four assistant general managers were critically injured following a blast in the steam pipe of a boiler at the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) plant in Unchahar rae bareli on wednesday evening the toll is likely to go further up as many suffered burn injuries . according to reports around the 1500 NTPC workers along with some of the senior officials and and engineers were working at unit numbers 6 of the 500 mega watt power unit (Coal based ) when the boiler pipe exploded.Many rae baleri district administration and UP DGP headquarters confirmed the toll as 16 ADG (Law and Order) anand kumar said that most of those injured in the accident had suffered more than 70 per cent burns and were rushed to different private and government hospitals in rae bareli allahabad and lucknow moreover four AGM s with severe burns were being rushed to Lucknow Trauma Centre for treatment however as per the eye witness account most of the rescued were with 90 per cent burns while a number of of CRPF and CISF companies were pressed into rescue operation at the plant all the ambulances in rae bareli district and around 50 additional from lucknow and adjoining districts were rushed to the mishap site to ferry the critically injured.The UP state government announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh Rs 50 lakh each to critically injured and Rs 25000 each to those who suffered minor injuries The CM also asked the officials concerned to provide free cost treatment to the injured at all the hospitals The entire plant has been cordoned off by the NTPC authorities and the entry of outsiders has been blocked into the premises it is a coal based thermal power plant under unchahar police station in a statement the NTPC said that at around 3.30 pm at unit number six of its unchahar plant there was a sudden abnormal sound at 20 meter elevation there was an opening in corner number two from which hot flue gases and steam escaped affecting the people woerking around the area it said , chief minister Yogi Adityanath who is on a three day official visit to mauritius directed principal secretary home arvind rescue to the victims as a results senior bureaucrats rushed unchachar to supervise the rescue and relief operations.