20 workers have been rescued in the fierce fire in Chembur-based Bharat Petroleum Refinery. At around 2.45 pm on Wednesday, there was a fire after the explosion in the compressor shed of Hydro Cracker Plant. There is no news of anyone’s death so far. BPCL officials say that two employees are marginally injured, who have been admitted to the hospital for treatment. The Mumbai Fire Brigade says the fire was limited to the Hydrocracker plant. The cooling process of the Hydro Cracker Plant is in progress. Officials say that due to heat, the plant is being cooled down from a safe distance. To control the fire, seven fire engines, two foam tenders, and two jumbo tankers were used. The fire brigade department called it a level three-level fire.
This could have been a bigger disaster as normally there are about 20 to 30 workers working in the plant. The explosion was so intense that tremors were felt till Deonar.
In addition to the Fire Department, the top officials of Local Administration and BPCL have reached the spot. Apart from fire brigade trains, 2 foam tender and 2 jumbo tankers are also engaged in extinguishing the fire. Work is also being taken out to expel the people inside the plant. A large number of employees have been evacuated to the safe place. The surrounding areas of the plant have also been evacuated. 21 people were injured in this incident, two of whom are being conditioned seriously.
A blower of the plant at around 3 o’clock in the afternoon. After the blast, the whole plant was filled with smoke and started flaring up high flames of fire. There was a panic in the employees present there.
BPCL spokesman Sundararajan said that many people were injured in this incident, who have been admitted to the hospital for treatment. Every possible effort is being made to control the fire. The fire team of the refinery is also involved in the fire extinguishing work. He said that this incident happened at the Compressor Shade of Refinery in Mahul.
Huge fire erupted after blast in #BPCL refinery at #Chembur . Nearby buildings were jolted after blast. Till now ne injuries reported.
Pic; whatsapp#Mumbai #Fire @mid_day pic.twitter.com/CSktPAKp1P— laxman singh (@Laxmantweetsss) August 8, 2018
Other Plants near BPCL at Mahul
Apart from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) in Chembur area, HPCL refinery and RCF plants are also in this area. For the last three years, the ‘Euro 5’ standard petrol-diesel is being constructed here. Residential colonies are also developed here for the employees of the plant. There is a nearby Wadala area where there are large slums. Therefore, this area is considered to be very sensitive towards safety.
Blast and Fire at #BPCL refinery #Chembur …People under tremendous pressure, experienced Jerk like #Earthquake in many parts of Chembur @PawarSpeaks @supriya_sule @dhananjay_munde @Jayant_R_Patil @nawabmalikncp @AhirsachinAhir pic.twitter.com/4fMsjKzxhS
— Adv Nilesh Bhosle (@advnileshbhosle) August 8, 2018
The explosion in BPCL plant was so fast that his voice was heard about four km away from the scene. People from Devnar region say that they did not understand first why the things kept in the house are shaking. They felt that the earthquake might have come. But later it came to know that there was a fierce fire in BPCL’s plant.
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