A major fire broke out in a naphtha-carrying pipeline of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district in the early hours of June 30, injuring at least 20 people, 6 of them critically, police stated. No fatalities were suggested.
The blaze was first observed around 2:45 am at the pipeline site near railway tracks and rapidly expand to a cluster of close by shanties, gutting numerous structures. Thick black smoke billowed into the sky as workers tried to extinguish the flames before fire services reached.
The injured, lots of them residents of the shanties near the pipeline, have been moved to close by hospitals. The fire also damaged above railway equipment close to the site, disrupting train services at the Haldia-Howrah line.
HPL stated preliminary information suggested the incident may have take place near to an unauthorized naphtha theft point in the plant vicinity. “Naphtha is a highly combustible and extremely flammable hydrocarbon, and the company has continuously cautioned local communities against any unauthorized access to or managing of petroleum products due to the serious safety risks included,” the company stated in a declaration, adding that it was too early to comment on the cause pending investigation and that it would cooperate fully with the government.
