2 OIL firemen found dead near blazing well in Assam; PM assures help

Tension has gripped the area after the fire, which erupted on Tuesday, damaged a stretch of the adjoining forest, houses and vehicles, provoking an attack by the locals on OIL employees

 

Dibrugarh/Guwahati(Agencies): Two firefighters of public sector major OIL were found dead in a wetland abutting the site of a major blaze at its Baghjan well, which has been "uncontrollably" spewing gas for the past 15 days in Assam's Tinsukia district, officials said on Wednesday.

Tension has gripped the area after the fire, which erupted on Tuesday, damaged a stretch of the adjoining forest, houses and vehicles, provoking an attack by the locals on OIL employees.

The two firefighters had gone missing after the well caught fire and their bodies were recovered by an NDRF team on Wednesday morning, Oil India Ltd (OIL) spokesperson Tridiv Hazarika told PTI.

"Their bodies were recovered from a wetland near the site. Prima facie it looks like they jumped into the water and got drowned as there is no mark of burns. The exact cause will be ascertained only after a post-mortem," he said.

The duo has been identified as Durlov Gogoi and Tikheswar Gohain, both assistant operators of the fire service department of the company, the official said.

Gogoi was a well-known football player who had represented Assam at several national tournaments in Under-19 and Under-21 categories. He was the goalkeeper of the Oil India football team.

A firefighter of the state-owned ONGC suffered minor injuries during the efforts to control the blaze, which the OIL said could take as long as four weeks to put out.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal of all possible assistance to the victims and to resolve the situation.

Sonowal called up the prime minister and apprised him of the situation arising from the gas blowout and the subsequent fire, a CMO official said.

"Gave details of Baghjan fire tragedy to PM Shri @narendramodi ji over phone. Also briefed him about emergency measures taken by @PetroleumMin, @OilIndiaLimited & state machinery. He assured of all possible help to resolve the situation & provide relief to victims," Sonowal tweeted.

Sonowal condoled the deaths and said he had requested the Union Petroleum Ministry to compensate the victims.