Huge petrochemical fire in India leaves several workers injured

A fire at the Haldia Petrochemicals factory in India left several people injured, the company said in a statement released this Tuesday (30).

The company stated that, so far, the fire has not affected operations. The fire occurred in an area where, in the past, there have been thefts of naphtha, a highly volatile and flammable liquid mixture of hydrocarbons produced during the refining process.

Earlier, local media outlets had reported a major fire at the unit, located in the state of West Bengal, in eastern India. Images showed a dense column of smoke and intense flames rising from the area.

"Preliminary information suggests that the incident may have occurred in the vicinity of a naphtha theft point," Haldia Petrochemicals said in a statement.

"We are aware of an incident that occurred at our Haldia unit in which some people were reportedly injured," the company added.

Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL) said the exact cause of the incident was being investigated and said it had warned neighboring communities to avoid unauthorized access to petroleum products.

According to local press, several of the injured were taken to hospitals.

The company operates an ethylene cracking unit with a capacity of 700,000 tonnes per annum in West Bengal. Haldia Petrochemicals has North American private equity group The Chatterjee Group (TCG) as its majority shareholder.

Source: CNN