Procedural lapse has triggered the explosion that killed three persons and injured five others in the underground petroleum storage space of the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited at Thokur, preliminary investigation revealed.

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The ‘procedural lapse’ happened while defusing explosives used for blasting rocks at the site of the cavern. The explosives went off 50 feet down in the cavern on Thursday, when a group of eight workers were removing them.

Experts said the unexploded explosives could be removed only after a cooling period of three days to a week. They should be defused from a distance, and those engaged in it should wear adequate protective gear. The place around the area should also be isolated. 

However, these procedures were ignored, sources said, adding that the new generation explosives were triggered by electronic impulses.

“They are easy to defuse, but dicey since we don’t know when the electronic impulses would begin the sequence of explosion,” sources said. Mangalore police commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said the tragedy prima facie looked a serious procedural lapse. “We have taken up an inquiry with the help of a panel of experts,” he said.

Rajan K Pillai, CEO of ISPRL, said, “It is too early to pinpoint the cause of the explosion. But it looks like the contractors of SKEC-KCT a Indo-Korean joint venture had not take adequate safety measures. He added that the families of the deceased and those injured would be adequately compensated. “The bodies will be handed over to their families on Saturday,” Pillai said.

An expert in explosives from Korea, Seung Gon Song, 37, was among those killed.

Meanwhile, it has been alleged that the local fire department was not informed of the incident. Regional fire officer HS Varadarajan said he came to know about the incident through TV news. “There was no call to our station either by the functionaries of the district disaster management committee or ISPRL agents or contractors.”

The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited is a special purpose vehicle created for ensuring fuel security.