Jaipur fire: Blaze in five of 11 tanks die down
31 Oct 2009, 2207 Hrs

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Jaipur, Oct 31 The massive fire at the Indian Oil Corporation's fuel depot at Sitapur near Jaipur is still continuing, but it has reportedly died down in five of the 11 storage tanks.

According to officials at the sites, the fires in the remaining six tanks are expected to die down in the next 12-hours.

The death toll has reached between eight and 11, while over 150 people have been injured and there is also the fear of confronting more lives lost when the flames die down.

"There may be people inside. So, we may even have to do some rescue and relief operations, salvage whatever we can," said Sartak Behuria, IOC chairman.

So far, nearly five lakh residents in the radius of five-kilometre area around the fire spot have been moved to safer locations after it was declared "danger zone".

Among those who were evacuated were all the patients, doctors and staff of a government hospital and engineering and medical students of 10 hostels.

According to IOC sources, a total loss of 300 crore has been estimated.

The IOC also said that it would take al least 15-18 months to rebuild the facility in Jaipur.

Meanwhile, Petroleum Minister Murli Deors has ordered a probe to ascertain the cause of fire.

"I won't say anything even if I know something. Our enquiry committee will go into the reasons why this fire happened. We'll also try to find out corrective measures to prevent such tragedies in future," Deora said.

Although the flames have been contained within the depot's premises, all 12 containers have exploded, so the fire is xpected to last for another day. (ANI)

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