Six people were killed and 17 injured in a boiler explosion at the Neyveli Lignite Corporation power plant in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district on Wednesday, ANI reported.

The explosion occurred at a boiler in stage-2 of the power plant, according to the news agency.

An unidentified official told NDTV that the boiler was not in operation. “We are investigating the incident,” he said.

A video recorded by onlookers showed thick plumes of smoke emerging from the power plant.

There was another explosion at the facility in May, and eight workers had been injured at the time.

There have been several deaths due to accidents at chemical plants over the last two months. On May 7, at least 11 people, including a child, died when toxic gas leaked from the LG Polymers Plant in Visakhapatnam. On Tuesday, at least two people died and four were hospitalised after a gas leak at a pharmaceutical plant owned by Sainor Life Sciences in the city.