20200203 Dibrugarh river fire caused by oil spill dies out after two days
India Feb 03 2020 “Other bldg.”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Dibrugarh river fire caused by oil spill dies out after two days
Updated: 2020–02–04
UGARH: A fire on a stretch of the Burhidihing river in eastern Assam‘s Tengakhat area of Dibrugarh district, which had been burning for the last two days, finally died out on its own on Monday morning.
Crude oil from a central tank pump of Oil India Limited (OIL) in the district had trickled into the river causing the fire.
In a statement released on Monday, OIL said on January 28 at around 10.30 am, the remote operated shut-off valves and motor-operator valves of the inlets and outlets of all the crude oil storage tanks had stopped functioning, leading to leaks developing at five points.
“Immediate action was taken to rectify the leakage and a restoration job was undertaken. Action was also initiated to recover and clean the spilled crude oil in and around the affected site. However, the crude oil at one of the delivery lines had managed to trickle into the nearby Burhidihing river. It appears that some miscreants set fire to the oil floating on the river,” Jayant Bormudoi, senior manager, corporate communications and public affairs, OIL, said. He added, “There has been no casualty and the fire doused on its own. The situation is absolutely under control now. Presently, normal operations have resumed and all leakages have been checked.”
Bormudoi said that an enquiry committee has been set up to find the root cause of the incident. “A joint team, including Tengakhat circle officer, state pollution control board officials, members of the fisheries department and experts from OIL are assessing any possible damage to the environment. Necessary action will be taken on the basis of the observations made by the committee,” he added.
Reacting to the incident, Dibrugarh deputy commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha said, “The fire has already been controlled. The circle officer of Tengakhat revenue circle has visited the site and will soon give a report. Our primary concern is to minimize any environmental hazard. We will take necessary steps after assessing the reports.”
Web Source: The times of India