Massive Fire Broke Out at IOC Fuel Depot in Jaipur – 12 People Died and Over 150 Injured
A massive fire at the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) depot near Jaipur has been raging on for almost 24 hours now. 12 people have died and over 150 have been injured.
Fire at Indian Oil Corporation Depot in Sitapura Industrial Area, Jaipur
The explosion took place on Thursday at 7:00 pm at IOC petrol depot in Sitapura area on the outskirts of Jaipur city when petrol was being transported to a pipeline and the fire soon engulfed the entire depot, spreading over 5 kilometres.
It burned through the night and was still engulfed by huge flames and black smoke late Friday afternoon.
Fire due to Leakage
The fire, that started due to a leakage in one of the valves, continues to rage in five of the 12 tanks that stored petrol, diesel and kerosene. Two diesel tanks, each having 20,000 kilolitres of the auto fuel, and three 10,000 kl petrol storages were on fire.
Impact of the Explosion
The impact of the explosion and the consequent fire was such that the walls of buildings two to three kilometers away developed cracks and splinters of glass caused injuries to many.
Many of the injured are from the staff of Genus Electronics, an electronic equipment manufacturing unit near the IOC depot.
Services affected
The Rail and road connectivity on the Jaipur-Kota section up to Sawai Madhopur district was stopped or diverted as a precautionary measure.
Government Initiative
Army has been sent to carry out the fire fighting and rescue operations at the site. Fire experts have been called from Mumbai. Five lakh residents around the area have been moved to safer locations, including hostelers of 10 engineering and medical colleges.
The Indian government has announced a compensation of one million rupees (20,000 U.S. dollars) for the families of those killed, 200,000 rupees for the seriously injured and 100,000 rupees for those who sustained minor injuries.
