Major fire at HPCL refinery in Vizag; one killed, 35 injured

NEW DELHI: A fire broke out on Friday at the Vizag refinery of state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd ( HPCL), the second blaze in the unit in three months, killing at least one person and injuring many, company and government officials confirmed.

"The fire has occurred at the cooling tower. We are awaiting more details," an oil ministry official said. Officials said details of the damage to the plant and the impact on refining operations were not immediately known.

A blast had occurred at the Vizag refinery in May, which was triggered by a short circuit.

Earlier in January, Indian Oil Corp's (IOC) petrol storage tanks at Hazira terminal in Gujarat were destroyed completed in a major fire.

Fire accidents are common in state-run oil and gas installations since 2009, when a major fire broke out at its Jaipur depot and continued for 11 days. The fire was caused by non-observance of normal safety procedures that killed 11 people and resulted in losses of properties worth Rs 280 crore.

After the Hazira fire, the Intelligence Bureau had raised serious concern over lack of adequate safety equipment at IOC's oil depot, where three persons had died. Interestingly, the oil ministry has not implemented the MB Lal committee report on fire safety, which recommended several measures after investigating the Jaipur fire accident at IOC depot.