3 CISF jawans among 4 killed in ONGC Mumbai gas plant fire

Raigad: At least four persons, including three CISF jawans, were killed in a massive fire that broke out in a storm water drainage network at the ONGC’s oil and gas processing plant in Uran, officials said here on Tuesday.

An official of Navi Mumbai Police Control told IANS that besides the four fatalities, some more were feared injured in the tragedy.

The CISF jawans of the Fire Wing (ONGC Unit), who were martyred in the line of duty are: E. Nayaka, M. K. Paswan, and S. P. Kushwaha.

“The CISF salutes the supreme sacrifice of CISF Fire Wing bravehearts who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty, during the fire-fighting operations at ONGC Uran, Navi Mumbai,” the CISF said in tribute today.

It added that the CISF will be foever indebted for their bravery and commitment.

Earlier Clouds of dark smoke were seen billowing out of the conflagration on the ONGC premises where the fire erupted around 7 a.m.

“Fire is being contained. No impact on oil processing and gas diverted to Hazira plants. The situation is being assessed,” an ONGC spokesperson told IANS.

Besides the ONGC’s own fire services and crisis management teams, fire-fighters from Uran, JNPT, Navi Mumbai and surroundings rushed to battle the blaze. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

After nearly 3 hours, the blaze was brought under control, cooling operations underway at the site.

In a fallout of the fire, gas suppies of both PNG and CNG were severely hit in Mumbai, according to Mahanagar Gas Ltd. (MGL).

The Mahanagar Gas Ltd, which supplies domestic, industrial and vehicular gas, said that gas supply to its City Gate Station, Wadala has been badly affected.

“We are ensuring that supply to domestic Piped Natural Gas (PNG) consumers would be maintained on priority without interruption. However, many Compressed Natural Gas stations in Mumbai may not operate due to low pressure in the pipeline,” the spokesperson said.

Accordingly, the MGL has advised industrial and commercial customers to switch over to alternate fuel till the gas supplies across MGLs’ network is restored by ONGC. It was not immediately clear when the gas supplies would be restored for normal operations.

The MGL network is spread across entire Mumbai, parts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad, serving lakhs of domestic, industrial and other consumers.