20160126 India Fire at IOCL oil refinery ahead of Modi’s visit
India Jan 25 2016 “Factories”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Fire at IOCL oil refinery ahead of Modi’s visit
Updated: 2016-01-26-08:54
Fire broke out in the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) oil refinery at Paradip on Saturday evening, a week ahead of its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 7.
“The Atmospheric Vacuum (AV) unit of the refinery caught fire. The site is close to gate no.1 where the PM is scheduled to alight. The fire was brought under control within an hour with the help of four fire tenders. It did not cause any major damage to the plant,” said executive director of the refinery Ramajee Ram. “Investigations are on to ascertain the reasons behind the fire. We are also assessing the damage caused to the unit due to the fire,” he added.
Officials barricaded the whole area and did not allow anybody to go near the fire site. Thick smoke billowing from the refinery site could be seen three km away, said an eyewitness. Locals said they heard the blasts. Officials of the refinery, however, said only fire broke out and there was no explosion.
“Around 5.20 pm, we heard a loud explosion. It was followed by two more explosions. Many people gathered in front of gate no. 1 near the AV unit to check what had happended,” said Bhaskar Sahoo of Paradip , who rushed to the plant site.
The accident took place on a day when oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan reviewed arrangements for the PM visit to the port town. He had left the refinery when the fire occurred. Modi would dedicate the 15 million tonne per annum oil refinery, tipped to be the most modern refinery in the country, built at a cost of Rs Rs 34,555 crore, to the nation.
Web Source: TIMES OF INDIA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Fire-at-IOCL-oil-refinery-ahead-of-Modis-visit/articleshow/50791138.cms