IOC depot fire awaits firefighting
Six employees reported missing
Perneet Singh
Tribune News Service

Jaipur, October 30
While the massive fire at the IOC depot here continues to rage even after 24 hours of the incident, the local administration is helplessly waiting for the fire’s intensity to decrease before beginning its fire extinguishing measures.

Though the state administration has got 30 fire tenders stationed at the site, apart from two columns of Army personnel and fire experts from Mathura refinery, the firefighting has hardly made any headway as none of the rescue personnel can get anywhere close to the site due to intense heat being generated by 10 out of the depot’s 11 tanks which have caught fire.

The administration is hoping that the fire at the depot will die down on its own when the entire fuel gets burnt while they are making efforts that the fire doesn’t spread to the nearby areas. Foam-carrying fire tenders from Ahmedabad, Panipat and Mathura have also reached the site, but the actual firefighting is expected to start only once the fire dies down to the extent where it can be extinguished.

During the past 24 hours, the fire has also spread to some industrial units in a radius of 3 km destroying them. The administration has declared five km area around the depot as “danger zone” and got this area evacuated. The people in these areas were complaining of breathing problem and burning sensation in eyes. Four relief camps have also been opened where at present around 400 persons have taken shelter. As a precautionary measure, the Indian Railways has diverted 11 trains and cancelled a couple of them as the ill-fated IOC depot is located near the rail track on Jaipur-Sanganer section.

As far as the death toll is concerned, it may go up with time, as six IOC employees, who are reporting to be missing, are feared killed in wake of the huge fire engulfing the depot. “Six of our staff, three officers and three blue collared employees, are missing,” IOC chairman Sarthak Behuria, who visited the accident site this morning, said.

Jaipur Collector Kuldeep Ranka said they have sought the list of the missing employees from the IOC. Preliminary reports suggest that the fire started due to leakage in one of the valves. However, the incident has raised a serious question mark on the safety measures being taken at such oil depots.

Meanwhile, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora today said the fire at the IOC depot has to die down on its own and there is no option but to let all the fuel burn. “You cannot do anything now. It (fire) has to die down on its own,” he said.

Asked if the fire would continue to rage, he said “That is what experts say. There is nothing else one can do. There is no other solution or alternative.” “We will have to let all the fuel burn. Only then will experts be able to go anywhere near the site,” Deora told reporters here after a visit to the site with senior officials of the state-run company. “We expect the fuel to burn out by evening.”

Deora also held a meeting with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, after which he announced setting up of an inquiry committee and also compensation for the next of those killed and injured.

The Petroleum Minister announced that the IOC will give an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed, Rs 2 lakh each to the seriously injured, and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured, which is besides the compensation announced by the state government.

He said Hindustan Petroleum CEO Mahesh Lal would head the inquiry committee, which will comprise of officials from Centre, state government, and IOC, besides fire experts. The committee will submit its report on the tragedy in six weeks.

Earlier, the state government had announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the next of the kin of those who were killed, Rs 1 lakh to the seriously injured and Rs 50,000 to the injured.

Oil depots to be shifted out of cities

In a significant move aimed at reducing loss of life and property in such incidents, the state government has decided to shift all oil depots located in populated areas to a distance of 30-35 km from the city. It may be mentioned here that the IOC depot has two more depots - that of HPCL and BPCL - in its vicinity.