Assam's Baghjan oil well suffers blowout, massive fire erupts; IAF rushes 3 fire tenders

DISPUR: A massive fire has erupted at the gas well of Oil India Limited at Baghjan in Assam`s Tinsukia district, almost two weeks after a major blowout there, said reports on Tuesday. A thick plume of smoke can be seen billowing out of the oil well from far away areas. A team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was deployed at the spot to douse the massive fire there.

Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has also pressed its fire-tenders into service. As per reports, the IAF has rushed three fire tenders to control the massive fire that broke out at the Baghjan oilfield gas explosion site.

According to reports, the fire broke out in a damaged oil field that had been spewing gas for 14 days in the Tinsukia district. The incident has created panic among the local people.

The state government has also deployed fire and emergency services, army and police officials to take stock of the situation and minimise the loss of life and property due to the fire.

A company spokesperson said no casualty or injury has been reported so far. However, the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

In a series of tweets, the Chief Minister's Office said CM Sarabananda Sonowal has spoken to Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the phone regarding the incident.

CM Shri @sarbanandsonwal spoke to Union Petroleum Minister Shri @dpradhanbjp over phone regarding incident of fire at the gas explosion site at the Baghjan oilfield, Tinsukia. — Chief Minister Assam (@CMOfficeAssam) June 9, 2020

"The CM has already directed to deploy fire & emergency services, army and police officials at the site to control the situation. The CM also directed district admin to ensure the safety of people and appealed to local people to not panic," it said.

The CM has already directed to deploy fire & emergency services, army and police officials at the site to control the situation.

The CM also directed district admin to ensure safety of people and appealed to local people to not panic. — Chief Minister Assam (@CMOfficeAssam) June 9, 2020

The blast occurred at a time when the experts and engineers of Oil India Limited were engaged in controlling the gas and oil emission which has continued on the site after the blowout on May 27.

Meanwhile, a three-member expert team from Singapore had also arrived at the site on Monday to control the situation. They had discussed with the Oil India Limited and ONGC teams about the situation.

As many as 1,610 families have been evacuated from the site to relief camps.