Death toll rises to two in Assam Oil India facility explosion
An engineer died from burn injuries following a Friday explosion during maintenance work at a petroleum storage facility in Dibrugarh.
The death toll from an explosion at an Oil India Limited (OIL) facility in Assam's Dibrugarh district has risen to two, according to reports from BusinessLine and ThePrint. An engineer died from burn injuries at a private hospital on Saturday, according to officials.
The explosion and subsequent fire occurred on Friday during maintenance work at the OIL Intermediate Tank Farm in Tengakhat. This facility is used to temporarily store petroleum products before they are transferred for transportation or further processing.
Kamal Phukan, the area manager, confirmed the death of Tapas Jyoti Gogoi, an employee of Spectron Engineering Private Limited. Gogoi, a resident of Milan Nagar in Dibrugarh, had sustained approximately 70 per cent burns and died around 3 am on Saturday.
A total of nine workers were present at the site during the accident. Seven workers sustained injuries, including Raju Dutta, who died on Friday, according to an official statement issued by the PSU.
The injured workers were initially taken to Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh before being moved to a private healthcare facility. Officials stated that three of the injured workers remain in critical condition.
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has urged Oil India to provide medical assistance, compensate the families of the victims, and investigate the cause of the explosion.