Tengakhat Oil India fire: death toll rises to 3, four still critical

The death toll from Friday's explosion and fire at an Oil India Limited (OIL) facility in Tengakhat, in Assam's Dibrugarh district, rose to three on Saturday, November 7, after two critically injured workers died in hospital. Four other injured people remain in critical condition, a senior OIL official told The New Indian Express.

Raju Dutta died at the site on Friday. Tapas Gogoi died on Saturday at a private hospital in Dibrugarh, and a third worker, Rupam, died at a hospital in Guwahati. Reports differ on his surname: Hub News gave it as Gohain and The New Indian Express as Gogoi.

What happened

According to The New Indian Express, the fire broke out at about 9.05 am on Friday, November 6, at the Indirect Bath Heater (IBH) of OIL's Intermediate Tank Farm (ITF) at Tengakhat, while maintenance work was going on. The heater area had been isolated for maintenance since November 4.

Five of the injured were first admitted to Assam Medical College and Hospital in Dibrugarh and one to the OIL Hospital in Duliajan. Some were later moved to private hospitals. "We are exploring all possibilities for the best medical treatment of the injured," the OIL official said.

Five-member inquiry

OIL has set up a five-member internal inquiry committee. It will look at the immediate and underlying causes of the explosion and fire, assess the damage, and recommend steps to prevent a repeat. The company has also offered condolences to the families of the dead.

The Oilfield Protection and Public Welfare Committee (North-East) has demanded an impartial probe. Its president Jayanta Baruah and general secretary Lakshyajit Moran raised concerns about an alleged oil leak at the site before the fire and called for accountability for any lapses, Hub News reported.

Sonowal visits the injured

Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who represents Dibrugarh in the Lok Sabha, visited Aastha Hospital in Dibrugarh on Saturday to check on the injured and spoke with doctors and OIL officials. He said seven people were seriously hurt in the incident, of whom three have died, and called it "deeply tragic".

Sonowal said he had spoken to OIL's Chairman and Managing Director and asked the company to arrange advanced treatment for the critically injured and adequate compensation for the families of those who died. He also called for a high-level inquiry by the department concerned to establish the exact cause.

Memories of Baghjan

The accident has revived memories of the 2020 Baghjan blowout in neighbouring Tinsukia district. Well No. 5 of the Baghjan oilfield blew out on May 27, 2020, and stayed on fire for months until it was put out on November 15 that year. More than 7,000 families were affected.

NEInsider will update this story as the inquiry progresses.