12 injured as ONGC’s gas well catches fire near Surat

Surat, April 18

Twelve persons were injured on Saturday when an ONGC's gas well near Olpad town in the district caught fire during a repair operation. Four of the injured are in a serious condition, fire brigade officials said.

ONGC, later, in a statement said, "While three of them have already been discharged after first aid, all necessary medical treatment is being given to others."

The incident occurred when a blow-out preventer (BOP), which is installed on wells to prevent a fire, was being repaired at a well in OLPAD-31 in Ankleshwar basin, ONGC's Ankleshwar Asset Manager Har Govind told PTI. The injured, he said, have been rushed to a hospital in Surat.

A blowout occurred as the well got activated during repair of the BOP, he said. "The fire has been contained and kept to cool, that is to say it is being allowed to burnout."

Those injured include 2-3 contract workers and the rest are ONGC's crisis management employees.

"It is a major fire, and we rushed to the spot with our equipment, but we are unsure of how to control it. We have to remain 500 meters away from it due to heat generation," a fire brigade official said.

The company said it mobilised its Crisis Management Team (CMT) and all resources to control the fire, which broke out today around 12.30 pm in an onshore well in Olpad area 80 km away from Ankleshwar, during repair and maintenance job.

"About 12 persons, seven of them from CMT, sustained burn injuries and have been shifted to a hospital in Surat," the statement said.

All non-essential persons have been evacuated from the accident area. Since there is no habitation within 2 km radius of the well, there is no danger to the life and property in the surrounding areas, ONGC said.

Apart from the specialised engineers of CMT from various regions, other senior officials of the Ankleshwar Asset as well as from corporate office are present to supervise the fire fighting activities.

The district authorities are providing full support to control the fire and minimise the damage.

According to Ishwar Patel, a fire officer from Surat, for the last two days, gas was leaking from the well that was being drilled by the ONGC. "The gas coming out of the well had spread in the surrounding villages and the residents could smell it." — PTI