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India oil depot fire leaves five dead and 150 injured

Indian army troops yesterday began efforts to put out a massive fire raging at an oil depot in western India that left at least five people dead, 150 injured and six trapped, an official said.

“Army soldiers have moved in to help firefighters who are trying to rescue the six people still trapped in the fire,” Inspector-General of Police B.L. Soni said.

“The fire is massive. We are finding it a bit difficult to douse it,” federal Petroleum Minister Murli Deora told reporters.

Dense clouds of black smoke billowed out of the oil depot as the fire soon spread to other gas tankers nearby.

Huge explosions were heard before the fire broke out and flames leaped into the sky. The blaze was visible from more than 25km away, district collector Kuldeep Ranka said.

The depot, 16km south of Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan state, stores gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuel for several state-owned oil companies.

The bodies of five people had been pulled out of the fire, while efforts were being made to rescue six others who were trapped inside, Soni said.

At least 150 people were in nearby hospitals and were being treated for burns and other injuries, he said.

People living near the depot were evacuated and power supplies to the surrounding areas were been switched off. At least 35 firefighting teams, including some from New Delhi, 350km to the north, were battling the flames, which burned through the night.
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