A 28-year old steeplejack suffering from third-degree burns that covered 90% of his body was brought to the intensive care unit of the corporate clinic on Saturday afternoon. This person was an employee of PromVysota, a company dealing in steeplejack operations, and hired by Metallurgical Industrial Complex of Magnitogorsk for reconstructing the arc-furnace plant. A cooling gas flue was assembled at 35 meters above the arc-furnace there, and the steeplejacks had to paint the gas pipes on the inside using heat-resistant paint. The diameter of the pips is 2.8 meters, and the workers went inside in groups of three for ten minutes per group. When the paint caught fire, there was one person inside, with his workmate outside the hatch. After the paint burned out, the fire ceased and the victim was taken out by the other workers. He is in a very grave condition now.

An ad hoc committee was set up to investigate the accident, the spokesperson for Department of Emergencies in Chelyabinsk Region said to UrBC representative.