Oil leakage leads to fire at Bathinda refinery

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 24

A fire broke out at the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery in Bathinda district on Friday morning. It led to panic amongst residents of nearby villages as smoke engulfed the sky over the refinery but the fire was soon brought under control by the refinery’s firefighting department. No casualties or injuries were reported as per refinery’s officials.

A spokesperson of the refinery, which is a public-private partnership (PPP) venture of HPCL-Mittal Energy, said the fire was caused due to an oil leakage in a quench oil pump set up in the morning.

“The HMEL emergency team reached the site and brought the fire under control. District Administration and other concerned authorities were informed immediately about the incident. The unit was shut down and the maintenance team is working on the restoration work,” he said.

Residents of nearby villages in Talwandi Sabo and Haryana said they heard the sound of a siren triggered by the refinery and a thick cloud of smoke was visible in the sky.