Two infernos that engulfed a natural gas well of Oil India Limited (OIL) in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district on June 9 afternoon has claimed the lives of two firefighters.
The well at Baghjan near the ecologically fragile Dibru-Saikhowa National Park had caught fire 13 days after a blowout – uncontrolled escape of crude oil or gas due – on May 27.
The cause of death was said to be drowning after the two, both employees of OIL, had jumped into a pond to avoid the flames. Personnel of National Disaster Response Force recovered their bodies after drones used by the Assam Forest department located them on June 10 morning.
They were identified as Durlav Gogoi and Tikheswar Gohain of OIL’s firefighting unit.
“We lost two of our men today (June 10). The cause of death as of now for lack of forensic is drowning in the pond beside the well. It could be suffocation too because of gas around,” OIL officer Tridib Hazarika told The Hindu.
A firefighter of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited was injured after a team was engaged when the well into flames at 1:40 p.m. on Tuesday. The man, rushed to the Dibrugarh Medical College and Hospital, is said to be out of danger.
Four more week
OIL officials said the fire was brought “under control to a great extent” on Wednesday with multiple agencies at work. They, however, said the blowout will take four more weeks to cap after the fire is completely doused.
The well had caught fire a day after three disaster control experts from a Singapore-based firm had arrived in a special flight to help contain the well. The trio, OIL officials said, has handled blowouts across 125 countries.
OIL had earlier issued a show-cause notice to the Gujarat-based firm that was outsourced the job of exploration and production at the Baghjan well. The blowout happened when they tried to extract gas from a depth of 3,729 metres instead of the depth they had been extracting from.
An environment activist in eastern Assam’s Golaghat had filed police complaint against OIL for “criminal negligence” by not ensuring blowout preventing arrangements at the well.
Green groups and locals said the blowout and resultant release of gas and condensates have destroyed flora and fauna around the well, particularly the Maguri-Motapung wetland. Some 1,610 families of villages around the well have been evacuated to relief camps beyond 1.5 km radius of the well.
OIL had a few days ago announced an immediate compensation of Rs. 30,000 per affected family.