Death Count In Assam Oil India Fire Rises To 2, 5 Injured Remain Critical

The death count in the massive fire that broke out at an Oil India Limited (OIL) installation in Assam's Dibrugarh district has risen to two, with five injured persons continuing to remain in critical condition.

Tapas Jyoti Gogoi, who had sustained severe burn injuries in the incident, died during treatment at a private nursing home in Dibrugarh on Wednesday. His death comes a day after Raju Dutta died following the fire and explosion at the facility.

Five other injured persons are currently undergoing treatment at the same private nursing home. Sources said the condition of four of them remains very critical and they have been placed on ventilator support.

Meanwhile, Oil India Limited has constituted an internal inquiry committee to investigate the incident. The inquiry committee has been tasked with examining the immediate and underlying causes of the incident, assessing the damage, and recommending measures to prevent similar incidents in the future, the company said.

According to a statement issued by the PSU, a fire was reported on Friday at the Indirect Bath Heater (IDBH) of the Intermediate Tank Farm (ITF) at Tengakhat. The incident occurred in an indirect bath heater area that had been taken up for maintenance and had remained isolated since November 4.

The fire broke out around 9:05 am during maintenance work at the Intermediate Tank Farm following an explosion. An Intermediate Tank Farm is a facility where petroleum products are temporarily stored in tanks before being transferred for further processing or transportation.

Preliminary information suggested that an accidental mishap occurred while workers were engaged in maintenance operations, triggering the explosion and the subsequent fire, the statement said.

Oil India added that its fire service personnel were immediately mobilised and the fire was brought under control.