A massive explosion and fire in gas filling unit of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation ltd on outskirts of Hyderabad on Wednesday night sent thousands of residents scurrying to safety.
Nearly 50 people were working at the unit when explosion occurred sparking the fire. However, there was no loss of life. Fear and panic gripped Charalapally and nearly 30 colonies in surrounding areas as fire broke out and the area continues to rock with a series of blasts as gas cylinders kept bursting one after the other.
Nearly a dozen fire engines rushed and fought for more than two hours to bring the fire under control even as a large number of policemen from Rachakonda Commissionerate barricaded the area around HPCl upto five kms and closed the roads for the traffic.
Police commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat said that an alert was sounded in 30 colonies and people were asked to vacate the houses in Bharatnagar colony.
Fire in the unit could be seen from a long distance and the booming sound of explosions could be heard from a distance of five kms. A thick black smoke had enveloped the area forcing the people to move out of their homes.
Police said that a major disaster was averted by brining the fire under control early as the incident happened in the heart of an industrial area. In view of the fire operations at many nearby industries had to be suspended.
Meanwhile, the Deputy controller of Explosives has suspended the licence of the HPCl unit to store and fill the gas following the allegations of carelessness leading to the fire accident. A high-level probe has been ordered.
Employee of the HPCl unit alleged that the authorities had put extra pressure on an old gas filling machine by making the workers do three shifts to meet the huge demand for gas cylinders in view of Dussehra.