Assam CM orders high-level probe into OIL well blaze, fire on periphery put out

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday ordered a high-level inquiry into the circumstances that led to a blowout at a gas well of Oil India Limited (OIL) in Tinsukia district and the subsequent fire, a day after the bodies of two firefighters were found in a wetland abutting the site, officials said.

Meanwhile, the blaze on the periphery of the well that started on Tuesday has been put out, and three experts from the US and Canada will reach Assam on Saturday to assist in the efforts to extinguish it completely, an official of the state-run company said.

The probe will be conducted by Additional Chief Secretary Maninder Singh, who has been asked to submit the report within 15 days, a senior official at the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) told PTI.

"The probe will also look into the allegation of negligence on the part of some officials of the company and its private well operator. It will find out who is responsible for this tragedy," he said.

The inquiry will try to find out how the entire tragedy unfolded and what measures should be taken so that such incidents don't recur, he said. Well No. 5 at the facility was spewing gas for the last 16 days and it caught fire on Tuesday afternoon.

Two firefighters went missing after the well-caught fire and their bodies were recovered by an NDRF team on Wednesday morning, OIL spokesperson Tridiv Hazarika had said.

"Their bodies were recovered from a wetland near the site. Prima facie it looks like that they jumped into the water and got drowned as there is no mark of burn injury. The exact cause will be ascertained only after a post mortem," he said.

An OIL official said on Thursday that the blaze on the periphery of the well has been extinguished and limited to its mouth. The PSU management has, however, declared the area in 1.5 km radius as "red zone", and efforts have been made to prevent any untoward incident that could harm people living in the vicinity.

Soon after the blaze erupted, OIL employees in and around Baghjan were attacked by locals, resulting in injury to some of them. Several vehicles were also damaged. The company and officials in Tinsukia district administration said they have moved around 7,000 people from nearby areas to 12 relief camps.

"Now only the flowing gas is burning at the mouth of the well. We have declared an area within 1.5 km radius as red zone so that no outside person comes near the site. It has been done as a safety measure," OIL Senior Manager (Public Affairs) Jayant Bormudoi told PTI.

The official said three more foreign experts from the US and Canada will reach Assam in the next two days. Currently, three experts from Singaporean firm Alert Disaster Control are working at the site since Monday to stop the gas leak.

"We have contacted three more experts and they will be joining us the day after tomorrow. Two of them are from the USA and one is from Canada," Bormudoi said. The visa and all other regulatory approvals have been completed, he added.

Bormudoi said gas is flowing "uncontrollably" at a pressure of 4,500 psi (pounds per square inch) which is "very, very high" to control the leakage.

"Besides, no one is able to approach the well beyond 50 metres because of excessive heat. Our fire tenders are now spraying water and creating a water umbrella in the periphery.While cooling down the periphery, the experts are trying to approach slowly," he said.

When asked about repeated tremors felt by people in the area on Wednesday night, the OIL official said it was not from underground sources but produced overground.

"When the massive fire burnt a huge amount of oxygen in the periphery, an air vacuum was created. This resulted in sudden air movement and created minor local tremors," Bormudoi said.

Two officials of the OIL have already been suspended for alleged negligence of duty, while a show cause notice has been issued to John Energy Pvt Ltd, the outsourced private operator of the well. A PIL was filed at the Gauhati High Court on Wednesday against OIL, John Energy, the Centre and the state over the blowout and the subsequent fire.

(Photo Credit: PTI)