New Delhi: Three of the six foreign experts from Singapore-based firm M/s Alert Disaster Control who were involved in capping the Baghjan blowout in Assam were injured Wednesday.
A blowout, which is an uncontrolled release of gas/ oil, took place on 27 May at an oil well at Baghjan in Assam’s Tinsukia district. This was followed by a massive inferno on 9 June in which two firemen had lost their lives.
The foreign experts were brought in to put out the fire and plug the blowout.
“Three of our foreign experts were injured while working at the oil well site. Two of them have minor while one has suffered severe burn injuries in his right hand. They have been rushed to the Astha Hospital (a private facility) in Assam’s Dibrugarh, as it has a burn unit. After this, the experts will be taken to the Assam Medical College (AMC),” Oil India Limited Spokesperson Tridiv Hazarika told ThePrint.
Hazarika said the experts were trying to cap a portion of the well when the fire broke out suddenly, injuring the three.
“We are trying to seal the gas leak. Only when the gas leakage stops, the fire will too. The fire is due to the uncontrolled gas leak,” he added.
Work on plugging the gas leak was supposed to be completed in the next three-four days, Hazarika said.
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“According to our plan, the work should have been completed in the next three-four days…but now that the experts are injured, we fear the operation will get delayed, but we are still hopeful that the gas leak will be contained soon,” he added. The capping operation, which is in its final stages, has been halted for the time being.
Over 9,000 people near oil field shifted
The team of foreign experts had reached the site of the oil well fire early last month (8 June), 13 days after the blowout on 27 May.
The damaged oil well has been spewing gas for 56 days now, with over 9,000 people living nearby been shifted to relief camps.
Last month, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had constituted an eight-member committee to probe the blowout, the subsequent fire and damage to humans, wildlife and the environment. The oil well is located near the Maguri-Motapung Wetland and Dibru Saikhowa National Park in Assam.
The green panel had imposed an interim penalty of Rs 25 crore on OIL.
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