New Delhi: A major fire broke out in one of the crude processing units of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) at its refinery in Vizag on Tuesday. According to an official statement released by HPCL, the fire has been extinguished and there is no casualty. "It is to confirm that there is no casualty. All people are accounted for and are safe. Fire is extinguished completely. Except the particular unit where the fire occurred, all other process units of Visakh Refinery are operating normally," said HPCL.
The fire at HPCL's Vizag refinery broke out around 3 pm and caused heavy smoke which could be seen billowing from a distance. There were around 100 employees on duty at the time the fire broke out. Fire tenders were rushed in by the local administration from different industrial units in the district to control the blaze. Preliminary reports suggested that around six HPCL workers were at the spot when the fire broke out and were missing. However, a spokesperson for HPCL said that no casualties and no injuries have been reported and all the workers have been moved to safety.
Sources who spoke to PSU Watch said that the fire was caused by a blast in a pipeline in a Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) at HPCL's Vizag refinery.
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