JAIPUR/NEW DELHI: A day after a fire ripped through Rajasthan’s Pachpadra refinery, which PM Modi was scheduled to inaugurate on Tuesday, officials from security agencies, including NIA, forensic teams and the state administration led by CM Bhajan Lal Sharma, reached the site to assess the damage.Sharma, accompanied by ministers and officials, and a team from Rajasthan ATS, inspected the site in Balotra and held discussions with the refinery management.A 4-member team has been set up to investigate the blaze, which will, among other things, examine why the fire extinguishing system failed to operate.
Fire extinguishing system failed to deploy immediately, say officials
The probe team will also determine the cause of the incident. Officials aware of the development said fire extinguishing system, first line of protection, failed to deploy immediately.Sujata Sharma, the joint secretary in the petroleum ministry, said the team, led by former MRPL managing director M Venkatesh, had reached Barmer to investigate the incident. “We will only be able to tell you the reasons and how much time the repair will take after the report is submitted,” she said.HPCL, which holds 74% stake in the refinery, with the state govt having 26%, said, “Prima facie it appears that leakage of hydrocarbons through the valves or flanges in the heat exchanger circuit caused the fire.” The financial and operational impact, if any, was being assessed, but prima facie, it was not expected to be material, it added.The fire was contained within the heat exchanger stacks in the crude distillation unit section of the refinery, the company said.