Mumbai: A massive fire that broke out at an oil and gas processing plant of state-run ONGC at Uran near Mumbai on Tuesday morning killed four people. Those killed include an ONGC employee and three Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) men. Additionally, three people were injured. It took firefighters two hours to douse the blaze and bring the situation under control. The police have sealed a 1-km area around the plant. "The fire is under control now and there is no need to panic. People living near the plant must not believe rumours," Navi Mumbai senior police officer Ashok Dudhe said.
In a series of tweets, ONGC said that fire broke out in a stormwater drain of the oil and gas processing plant at Uran, 45 km from Mumbai. The public sector company said that gas from the plant has been diverted to a plant in Gujarat's Hazira.
Visuals, meanwhile, showed big flames rising from amidst oil and gas pipes at the Uran plant as firefighters struggled to bring the situation under control.
In an official statement, Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) said that its City Gate station at Wadala has been severely affected, and many CNG stations across Mumbai may not operate due to low pressure in the pipeline. The company also asked customers to switch to alternative fuel in the meantime. "Due to a major fire at ONGC's gas processing facility at Uran today morning, gas supply to MGL's City Gate Station at Wadala has been severely affected. MGL is ensuring that supply to its domestic PNG consumers would be maintained on priority without interruption," MGL said in the statement. "However, many CNG stations, across Mumbai may not operate due to low pressure in the pipeline. Industrial & Commercial customers have been advised to switch to alternate fuel. Gas supplies across MGL's network will normalize once the supply of natural gas from ONGC is restored. Inconvenience caused is regretted," it said.