The Natural-gas producing well of Oil India Limited (OIL) has been leaking gas for 14 days. Some and fire erupted on Tuesday afternoon and has been spreading since.
PTI reported that the massive fire could be seen from a distance of 30Kms and the smoke possesses extreme danger to the biodiversity and the locals. Nearly 1,600 families have been evacuated and no casualties have been recorded yet. However, a large part of the natural vegetation and several houses have been completely damaged.
#WATCH Massive fire at the gas well of Oil India Ltd at Baghjan in Tinsukia district, Assam. A team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is present at the spot pic.twitter.com/Tw2G92aPXy
— ANI (@ANI) June 9, 2020
The Indian Air Force and Army are assisting the firefighters. ‘Well killing’ experts have been flown in from Singapore to control the damage. However, NDTV’s source reported that the fire and the well will take around four weeks to be capped completely.
Since the gas has been leaking since May 27, it has caused grave damage to the region’s wetlands and biodiversity. Various paddy fields, ponds, wetlands, and so on have been damaged in the nearby regions. The temperature has also been increasing by the day.
OIL has announced a financial relief of Rs.30,000 to each of the affected families.
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