A 48-year-old welder, who was working on contract, died and another worker was critically injured after a fire broke out at an ethanol tank at the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) terminal at Tondiarpet here on Wednesday.
The incident happened around 11.45 a.m., and residents in the locality heard a loud blast. IOCL sources said that a fire broke out during maintenance of ethanol tanks, resulting in the accident. The decades-old terminal has two ethanol tanks with a capacity of 50 thousand litre each. The ethanol is blended with petrol.
The injured worker, Saravanan, who suffered 60% burns, was taken to the Government Stanley Hospital. Fire and Rescue Services personnel rushed to the spot and put out the fire by 1 p.m.
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The company has announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh to the kin of the deceased, G. Perumal.
CITU’s State general secretary G. Sukumaran said that the quantum of compensation was too less and should be increased to Rs. 50 lakh. Compensation should also be provided to the injured person.
A team of experts from Head Office, Mumbai and regional office in Chennai rushed to site to assist the investigation team to determine the root cause of the incident. All possible measures would be undertaken by the team to ensure complete safety of men and machine before resumption of normal operations. Petrol, oil and lube supplies have been made from alternative locations to ensure product availability into the city and its surroundings.
In a statement, IOCL said that a major tank fire incident had been averted at the terminal. Local residents said that shifting of the terminal outside the city was long overdue and this was despite several court orders.
