It was the early hours in West Bengal when a naphtha pipeline at Haldia Refinery went up in flames, leaving 15 or more with injuries. Some are in bad shape, so there is an all-hands response from multiple departments and a look-see into what happened.
What unfolded in the early hours
Sometime between 4 and 5 am, you had a fire break out on a naphtha-carrying pipe. You could see the black smoke billowing over the complex while teams made for the workers who were in the way of it to get them out of harm’s way.
The fire only got worse, so in came the firefighters with back-up. They put out 12 tenders and even after 90 minutes, they were still having to work at it to put the fire down for good.
Injuries, hospitalisation, and shifting numbers
We have 15 confirmed injuries to put on the record, and a few of those are in critical condition at the Haldia Sub-divisional Hospital. While medics do what they can for the burn victims, emergency crews are still at the scene.
Word from the field is that a number of the burned were taken to the sub-divisional hospital, and some are still not out of the woods. Then you have local reports of 10, with one being sent to Kolkata for better care and the rest to Tamluk State Hospital.
Ripple effect on the community
There are indications the fire may have jumped to some of the homes in the vicinity. In any case, it was enough to put a stop to rail traffic on the Haldia-Panskura line as a safety measure.
If you saw the footage of the high flames and the smoke, it tells you how serious this was. Local MLA Pradip Bijli was on hand to keep an eye on it and talk with the people on the ground.
Cause under investigation, risk remains high
The factory side of things hasn’t said what set it off. We are waiting on an in-depth look at the matter. There are whispers of a naphtha gas leak, but nothing to put your money on just yet.
Naphtha is a byproduct of crude oil and you don’t want to be around it when it’s on fire – it’s very flammable and used to make petrol and kerosene. It can go up in a hurry and put both men and machinery in jeopardy, so you have to move fast to contain it.
What to watch next
Before we get the full story from the top, there will be some due diligence. For now, here is what you should be looking for:
– A word on what caused the fire
– Any new figures on the injured from the hospitals
– If the rails on the Haldia-Panskura are open again
– An idea of the damage done at the refinery and in the neighbourhood
You can’t have an event like this at a major industrial site without it making waves. As they figure out the details, the aim is to make sure it doesn’t happen again and to keep the public in the loop. We’ll have more as the probe goes on.
