Two dead in Assam oil well blaze; operation to put out the flames in full swing
Dispur: Two persons have reportedly died in the fire that continued to rage in a gas well of Oil India Ltd at Baghjan in Tinsukia district. The fire had broken out in the damaged Baghjan oil well on Tuesday. It has been constantly spewing gas for the last 14 days.
Earlier, OIL had informed about a firefighter from ONGCL sustaining minor injuries during the operations to put out the blaze. The two casualties are yet to be confirmed by the company.
“While the clearing operations were on at the well site, the well caught fire. There is no casualty reported. A firefighter from ONGCL sustained minor injuries. Fire tenders are at the site controlling the spread of fire,” OIL said.
While chalking out plans with ALERT team in the morning, they presented alternate options which also included “Capping Stack Guide Rail” Mechanism. ÔNGC and OIL teams had made considerable progress with the “Capping Stack Guide Rail” Mechanism and it was decided to proceed with the same.
However, the situation would be brought under control by the experts. There are violent protests around the well site. Request was made to state chief secretary and district administration, Tinsukia to maintain law & order so that the experts can enter the site and carry on the well control operations without hinderance.
All officials of OIL/ ONGC are being evacuated from nearby areas. Once the situation is normal, the experts from ALERT and the staff of OIL/ ONGC will move to the site. Post the incident, emergency meetings are underway with ALERT Team. They have expressed that it is now a safe environment for working and are confident that the situation can be controlled and the well can be capped safely.
The situation demands procurement of large quantities of water, installation of high discharge pumps and removal of debris. All the operations as per ALERT will take about four weeks’ time. Efforts will be made to reduce this timeframe as much as possible, OIL added