A Hero blast furnace worker who rescued colleagues in the 2001 explosion at the Port Talbot steelworks died from burns after falling into a molten slag channel at the plant five years later.

An inquest heard that Mr Kevin Downey suffered burns to 80% of his body after falling into the slag, a waste product of iron making, which had a temperature of 1,400C.

The accident happened on April 25th 2006, after father of two Mr Downey of Rhodes Avenue, Aberavon, fell from a viewing veranda at the plant’s Number Four blast furnace into a slag runner, a channel taking the waste from the huge furnace.

Before being taken to hospital the production co ordinator managed to tell colleagues the fall happened when he moved his position on the veranda after being engulfed by hot steam.

Neath Port Talbot Coroner Philip Rogers holding the inquest at Swansea’s Guildhall was told a heavy metal cover had been taken off the slag channel before the accident for cleaning.

Mr Ian Hobson a technical director of Indian conglomerate TATA Steel which now owns the plant previously run by Corus said that GBP 6 million had been spent on re designing the covers to make them easier to handle since the accident. He also said work had been done on reducing steam in blast furnace cast rooms or operating areas.

(Sourced from www.walesonline.co.uk)