Oil India Suspends Four Officials After Assam Tank Farm Fire
State-run energy explorer Oil India Limited suspended four personnel, including three officers and one employee, following an explosion and fire at its installation in Assam. Company authorities initiated disciplinary penalties for alleged dereliction in discharging official duties in connection with the industrial disaster in Dibrugarh district. Oil India spokesperson Prankush Malla Buzarbaruah shared details regarding the suspension decisions after preliminary administrative assessments. The casualty toll from the blast at the Intermediate Tank Farm located at Tengakhat rose to three on Saturday following the death of another worker. Critically burned plant employee Rupam Gohain from Tengakhat succumbed during medical care at Nemcare Hospital in Guwahati.
Casualty Toll and Hospital Treatment Details
First-response medical teams brought Gohain to the corporate medical center in Duliajan right after the November 6 blaze began. Considering the severity of his injuries, corporate management transferred the patient to Guwahati for advanced clinical management. Despite sustained medical efforts, Gohain died because of his injuries at the private hospital in Guwahati. Two other individuals died earlier during the immediate aftermath of the industrial tank explosion. One of the deceased victims was engineer Tapas Jyoti Gogoi, who was employed by Spectron Engineering Pvt Ltd.
Ex-Gratia Compensation and Ministerial Review
Gogoi passed away from extensive burn injuries at a private healthcare clinic in Dibrugarh shortly after the incident. Following the disaster, Oil India Limited declared financial compensation of 10 lakh rupees (Rs 10 lakh) each for families of the deceased. The exploration enterprise also provided ex-gratia relief of 5 lakh rupees (Rs 5 lakh) each to workers who sustained injuries. Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal visited the injured undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Dibrugarh. Earlier, the Union Minister conferred telephonically with the Chairman and Managing Director of Oil India Limited to assess ground developments.
High-Level Inquiry and Regional Safety Protocols
Sonowal urged corporate executives to mobilize top-tier medical specialists and ensure the best possible medical care for all survivors. The Union Minister called for a high-level inquiry by concerned authorities to establish the exact cause of the disaster. Sonowal emphasised the necessity of an exhaustive investigation to bring all operational lapses and technical aspects of the disaster to light. Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma alongside central government leadership maintained ongoing surveillance of ground rescue developments. The fatal fire has renewed scrutiny regarding industrial safety protocols and operational risk management across petroleum processing facilities in upper Assam.
Background
In May 2020, a blowout struck Oil India's Baghjan-5 well in Assam leading to a fire on 9 June 2020, resulting in the National Green Tribunal ordering OIL to deposit Rs 25 crore for environmental damage, according to Suchitra ACS.