Flames at Taranto steel plant

(ANSA) - Taranto, November 12 - A hole in the second blast furnace at the Arcelor Mittal steel plant in Taranto sparked "extremely high flames" that reached some gas pipes, unions FIM, FIOM and UILM said on Tuesday.
    "Only the prompt intervention of firefighters that managed the emergency in a professional manner avoided the worst", the unions said, denouncing poor safety at the plant and calling for "ordinary and extraordinary maintenance work, which has so far only been announced, without any effective intervention".
    The Franco-Indian group's Lucia Morselli said last week that the plant would gradually shut down as ArcelorMittal implemented its plan to pull out of a deal to take over the works and the rest of the Italian steel group.