HPCL refinery fire extinguished, safety inquiry to follow

The fire at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited’s Visakhapatnam refinery was fully extinguished, and officials reported no injuries or deaths. Fire crews at the refinery and the Andhra Pradesh Fire Department used their equipment to put out the flames, Revenue Divisional Officer Dileep Chakravarthy said on Tuesday. He urged nearby residents not to panic. ^2,3

The flames lit up the night sky on Monday, alarming people near the refinery in the port city. Police said the fire started around 9:45 p.m.; six fire tenders were sent to help bring it under control within about an hour. Early reports linked it to a sulphur storage tank, while HPCL later said the fire was confined to a pitch intermediate storage tank. ^1,5

The tank was inside a refinery where crude oil is processed into fuels and other products, so the fire raised concern among nearby residents and workers. Witnesses said they saw large flames and moved away in fear. But officials said the fire caused no reported injuries or deaths, and HPCL said its other refinery units were operating safely. The exact cause has not been confirmed, and reports of a blast remain uncertain: Chakravarthy called it a small blast, while other officials said no blast had been confirmed. ^2,4,5

The safety question now falls to an inquiry, which Chakravarthy said would examine the facility under relevant industrial safety rules. HPCL is also examining the incident, but no cause has yet been announced. Investigators will need to establish what happened at the tank and whether any safety steps need to change. ^2,5