Three persons died and four injured in an unexplained blast at the site of the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL) on Thursday at 6.30pm.
Three persons died and four injured in an unexplained blast at the site of the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL) on Thursday at 6.30pm. The deceased has been identified as Sirajuddin Katipalla and Saang, a Korean national. The third is yet to be identified.
Mangalore police commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh, said, “The blast occurred at the tunnelling area of the site where big machines were being operated. A part of the machinery that supplies power to the tunnelling equipment might have blasted resulting in the mishap.”
The injured have been admitted to Mangala hospital. Among the injured are a safety engineer Sheikh Abdul Gani from Kateel, Vikram Das, Shivanath Chauhan and Lawrence Pereira. Another injured has been admitted at AJ Hospital. His identity is yet to be confirmed.
The ISPRL is one of the projects that are being taken up at Thokur near Mangalore. There are two other similar projects taken up, one in Vishakapatnam and the other in Padoor in Udupi taluk.
According to sources in the fire department, the overloading of the power supply unit had caused the blast. The work was supposed to stop at 6pm but it was carried on indefinitely, and at 6.30pm, the unit blasted killing all three on the spot. Their bodies have been charred beyond recognition. The fire and rescue workers could establish some identity due to the collar identification tags of the workers.
Singh told that an inquiry will be ordered about the blast on Friday. All roads leading to the unit has been cordoned off and rescue workers and fire brigade along with the local police were still looking under the debris for more details.
The ISPRIL unit at Thokur was being constructed below100 feet from ground level. When completed, it can hold enough petroleum to last at least 15 days in case of emergencies like wars. The stockpile of petroleum products would help the Indian armed forces in need.
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