A major fire broke out at the State-owned HPCl refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Visakhapatnam on Friday evening, in which one person was killed and as many as 35 others were injured, police said.
The fire broke out at 4 pm and has been brought under control, Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner B Shivadhar Reddy said. “The cause of the fire is not yet known. The fire was brought under control,” Reddy said.
The initial reports from the site suggested that the fire accident occurred due to blasting of cooling tower due to short circuit, sources said. A thick layer of smoke engulfed the area causing tension and panic among nearby residents.
Police said the injured were shifted to INS Kalyani and other nearby hospitals.