Gujarat: One employee killed, two injured as huge fire breaks out at Indian Oil refinery in Vadodara

Vadodara Commissioner of Police Narasimha Komar told The Indian Express, “We can confirm that one employee of IOCL, who had sustained burn injuries, has died while two others are being treated. Attempts are on to control the spread of fire.” The employee, who has died, has been identified as Dhimant Makwana, a resident of Anand district

Following the explosion, plumes of smoke could be seen billowing out from the refinery. A statement issued by the IOCL at 5.30 pm underlined, “Today, a fire was reported at around 3:30 pm in a benzene storage tank (1,000 KL capacity) at Gujarat Refinery. The refinery’s emergency response team is actively tackling the situation, with firefighting operations currently underway. The adjacent water sprinkler system has been activated to contain the fire, and dousing efforts are ongoing. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained,” read the statement.

After 11 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, Vadodara District Collector Bijal Shah told The Indian Express that additional foam fire tenders were summoned from Ankleshwar industrial area in Bharuch district to be kept on standby.

Foam fire tenders of Vadodara Fire and Emergency Services (VFES) of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation were also rushed to the spot late on Monday evening. Between 6 pm and 8.30 pm, sounds of two more explosions were reported from inside the refinery, officials said. Police confirmed that the blast had occurred in a second tank adjoining Tank number 68, which had initially witnessed a blast on Monday afternoon. Police also said that the refinery has a total of 268 tanks with different chemicals at the premises. The blast took place in a separate area where liquid flammable benzene was kept.

Nikunj Azad, Incharge Chief Fire Officer, VFES, said that the firefighters were continuously trying to bring the fire under control and the cooling process was “ongoing”. Azad also confirmed that fire personnel of VFES had suffered minor burn injuries while dousing the flames.

“It is a minor injury and the officer is continuing on duty and fighting the fire even right now,” Azad said.

District Collector Bijal Shah said that fire tenders from other districts had been rushed in to be on standby as the operations were expected to continue overnight.

“The teams are trying to contain the fire so that it does not spread. Additional foam fire tenders will arrive from Ankleshwar and remain on standby as the teams will also need to be changed if the firefighting continues overnight. We are taking all precautions and the evacuations that were needed from within the refinery have been done. So far, the surrounding residential areas are not facing any danger, but if the need arises, we will initiate evacuations for residents,” Shah said. A case of accidental death has been filed at the Jawaharnagar police station and a probe has been initiated.

At 9:45 pm on Monday, the Ahmedabad Fire And Emergency Services (AFES) dispatched two foam tender vehicles with 10 firefighters bound for the IOCL refinery in Vadodara where two blasts had already taken place during the day. The development was confirmed by Additional CFO Mithun Mistry.

CFO Basant Pareek of the Surat Fire and Emergency Services (SFES) also confirmed that two foam tender vehicles were being dispatched to the refinery.

At 10:15 pm, the Gandhinagar Fire and Emergency Services (GFES) dispatched a water bowser with seven firefighters to the refinery, said in-charge CFO Kaizad Dastoor.

IOCL officials told The Indian Express that the details of employees — who could have been in the line of danger — were being gathered. “Safety of our employees and surrounding communities remains our utmost priority. The refinery operations are normal. Further updates will be provided as the situation develops,” the official statement read.

Amid the rescue operations, ambulances were seen rushing in and out of the refinery. Senior police officials, the District Collector as well as teams of the Industrial Disaster Response also visited the site.

Meanwhile, traffic police personnel as well as DCP Traffic Jyoti Patel rushed to the spot following the incident to manage the movement of vehicles and disperse the people from neighbourhoods who had gathered on roads in panic.