Massive Blast Rocks Indian Oil Corporation Refinery In Vadodara

(MENAFN- Live Mint) A massive blast rocked the Indian Oil Corporation refinery in Gujarat on Monday after a storage tank caught on fire. Visuals shared online showed smoke billowing out of the factory while workers rushed to evacuate. Officials said there had been no reports about serious injuries or fatalities so far.

According to an IOC statement quoted by Reuters, a benzene storage tank caught fire around 3:30 pm on Monday. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and officials insisted that IOC refinery operations had been unaffected. IOC runs a 13.7 million metric tonnes per annum integrated refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Gujarat.

"Rescue operations are on. Things will be clear gradually," said DCP (Traffic) Jyoti Patel.

Local MLA Dharmendra Sinh Vaghela said no death has been reported but a few people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

“The village sarpanch called me up to inform me of the incident... I tried to get information from the concerned authorities on the reason for the fire... I will go inside to assess the situation and talk to the officers. We have also called an urgent meeting with the Collector, Deputy Collector, Police, and IOC officers to ensure no such case happens again,” he told ANI.

IOC runs a 13.7 million metric tonnes per annum integrated refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Gujarat.

More to come...

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