A thick black smoke cloud could be seen from several kilometres
Seven monitors of fixed fire-fighting installations and four hose lines of fire engines were used to contain the level three fires that require immediate evacuation. The hydrocracker unit, which was set up at Mahul Refinery was installed as part of the refinery’s upgradation to produce clean automotive fuels, a BPCL official said.” Of the 43 injured, 22 have been admitted to the BPCL medical centre, whereas remaining 21 are undergoing treatment at Shushrut Hospital, Chembur.The explosion was so loud that the tremors were felt in areas as far as Deonar. Rahangdale.This was the second major incident involving a Bharat Petroleum establishment in the past 10 months in the Mumbai region. While there are no casualties reported so far, 43 people have been injured, of which one is in a critical condition.The BPCL released an official statement, saying that the fire broke out Nitrile Rubber Hoses Factory at 2.Considering that there are several petrochemical plants in the vicinity, the firefighting operations were started on warfooting.S.The incident took place in the “Compressor shed of Hydrocracker plant”, as per the company’s statement..
All plants are being depressurised and being shut for safety reasons, an official said.The blast took place at BPCL’s hydrogen cracker plant at about 3 pm. Nine fire tenders, two foam tenders and two jumbo tankers were pressed into service to douse the blaze, said a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official. The Mumbai Fire Brigade rushed seven fire engines, two foam tenders and two jumbo tankers to the spot. However, it continued to blaze till late evening.“Due to tremendous heat and built-up pressure, fire fighting operation was being carried out from safe distance using fixed monitors,” said chief fire officer P. The attempts to douse the fire are underway. A thick black smoke cloud could be seen from several kilometres away.The fire control operations went on for nearly five hours. Its vibrations shook windows of our building, which is 500 metres away from the refinery.
Excessive heat and strong winds were proving to be a major deterrent in controlling the fire, said fire officials.A local resident, Santosh Aadhar said, “We heard a massive explosion.45 pm on Wednesday in the compressor shed of the hydrocracker plant, and two people had suffered minor injuries in the same.Mumbai: A massive fire broke out after a boiler blast in the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited refinery in Mahul on Wednesday.45 hrs.The statement read, “A fire occurred at BPCL’s Mumbai refinery at the Mahul plant on Wednesday at around 14. The fire is being fought by the fire fighting team. Along with the Fire Brigade, the refinery’s own fire-fighting team, HPCL, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, RCF and Mazgaon Dock fire brigades were also engaged in dousing the flames which were later brought under control, said an official of the disaster control room of the BMC. Eight to 10 monitors of BPCL, mutual aid response group and fire brigade are carrying out cooling operation. Last year, on October 7, a lightning strike had caused a major fire in a a massive oil storage tank on Butcher Island, off Mumbai shore, which was extinguished after four days.