State-run oil and gas explorer Oil India Ltd (OIL) reported that a fire broke out of an oil well at Baghjan in Tinsukia district in Upper Assam at 1:40 PM local time on Tuesday. The well caught fire after spewing gas for 13 days. Large plumes of smoke erupted from the well and can be seen from more than four kilometres away from the site.
By around 5:00 PM the fire spread and destroyed at least 30 houses near the well. The authorities already evacuated 1,610 families living in the nearby villages to relief camps after the blowout at the oil well number 5 was reported earlier.
A company spokesperson said the fire injured one ONGC employee and caused no fatalities. Fire brigades from OIL, ONGC, as well as Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts, were rushed to the site. OIL also sought assistance from Singapore’s Alert Disaster Control to contain the blowout. The Singaporean experts said it would take up to four weeks to solve the problems.
