Major fire breaks out at Hindustan Petroleum's refinery in Visakhapatnam; no casualties reported

A fire broke out at the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) refinery in Gajuwaka industrial area of Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam late on Monday night, police said.“The fire is believed to have erupted at the sulphur pitch tank of the refinery's Residue Upgradation Facility (RUF) within the HPCL refinery premises. The tank caught fire, resulting in eruption of flames and thick smoke,” Malkapuram inspector of police Prakash Rao told reporters.Local residents said they had heard sounds of an explosion in the area, but the police authorities have not confirmed it.

“Flames quickly spread to nearby areas, sending thick clouds of black smoke into the sky and engulfing the surrounding locality,” an employee of HPCL said.Alarmed by the massive flames and thick smoke, residents in nearby areas rushed out of their homes. The incident triggered widespread panic among people living close to the refinery. Soon after receiving information about the fire, the refinery's internal firefighting teams rushed to the spot and launched firefighting operations.“Though the fire stations in other parts of the city were alerted, there was no need for them, as the internal fire tenders themselves brought the fire under control,” Prakash Rao said.As a precautionary measure, refinery officials suspended power supply to the affected area and evacuated personnel to safer locations.

“There is no need for any panic for the HPCL employees or residents in the surrounding areas, as flames were brought under control within an hour. There are absolutely no casualties nor are they any injuries,” the inspector said.The exact cause of the fire accident will be known only tomorrow, the HPCL employee said.