In West Bengal, 3 killed, 44 injured in fire tragedy at Indian Oil's Haldia plant

A massive fire broke out in the premises of the Indian Oil Company located in West Bengal's Haldia district on Tuesday. Three people have died in the accident, while at least 44 others have been injured. According to reports, the fire broke out at the Naptha section of the plant.

Some of the injured have been shifted to a hospital in Kolkata. In a statement, the IOC said that the incident occurred at a unit of the refinery during shutdown-related work. "The primary cause seems to be a flash fire leading to burning injuries to 44 persons and 3 persons have unfortunately succumbed to their injuries," it said.

Meanwhile, the blaze has been doused off and the situation is under control. A senior police official said that out of the 44 injured people, 37 have been shifted to a Kolkata hospital. The condition of seven people are stated to be critical, he said.

Taking to Twitter, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that she is deeply anguished by the fire at the Indian Oil Company in Haldia. "Three precious lives were lost and my thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. Those injured are being brought to Kolkata through a green corridor. GoWB (West Bengal government) will extend all assistance to ensure their speedy recovery," she tweeted.

A similar fire broke out at gutka manufacturing factory in Odisha's Sambalpur on Monday. More than 20 people were injured in the accident and were shifted to Veer Surendra Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) for treatment. The fire reportedly broke out due to a short circuit. Fire officials took around an hour to douse the flames.

Fire also broke out in the ground-plus two-storey building in Maharashtra's Thane district on Monday night. Santosh Kadam, chief of the Thane Municipal Corporation's Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC), said that two senior citizens were rescued from the building. Meanwhile, no one was injured.