 Richard Williams spent over a month in a coma |
Two steelworkers seriously injured in a blast at Port Talbot steelworks three years ago are to sue the owners for damages of over �150,000 each. The explosion at the Corus plant's furnace in November 2001 killed three men and left five critically injured.
Stephen Michael of Briton Ferry and Richard Williams from Abertridwr have begun a High Court claim for compensation.
The blast was the worst accident in the UK's steel industry in 26 years.
Mr Williams, a contract worker at the factory, suffered 40% burns and spent a month in a coma following the blast.
Corus has already admitted civil liability for the explosion on 8 November, 2001.
Workers Andrew Hutin, 20, and Stephen Galsworthy, 25, died at the scene and 53-year-old Len Radford died days later from his injuries.
 The explosion claimed the lives of three men |
The company has spent �75m reconstructing the number five furnace following the explosion. A report into the blast by the Health and Safety Executive said it was probably caused by water coming into contact with hot material in the furnace.
It found the explosion was so powerful it lifted the top half of the furnace up, which allowed approximately 200 tonnes of slag and molten metal and a large volume of hot blast gases to be ejected.
The blast furnace gas subsequently ignited and flames enveloped the furnace, it continues.
An initial report into the blast had revealed that approximately 48 hours prior to the incident there had been problems in the furnace caused by cooling water leaking into the furnace.
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