Explosion and fire at Indian refinery injure 45
09 August 2018
A major fire broke out at the Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) Mahul refinery in Chembur on August 8, with initial reports claiming 45 workers had been injured, two critically. A BPCL official told local media the fire started due to a blast in the compressor shed of the hydrocracker plant at the refinery.
Mahul refinery, Mumbai - Image: BPCL
In a report in The Hindu, survivors said the hissing of leaking gas minutes before the blast alerted people to the danger and helped them escape the ball of fire that followed. As no staff were close to the seat of the explosion when it happened, none of the patients had burn injuries.
Workers said the explosion was so powerful that it threw machines weighing up to one tonne in the air. Most were wounded by flying glass and other objects and suffered fractures, The Hindu said.