Just a few weeks ago, a heavy spell of rainfall ravaged the state of Assam, including capital Guwahati. Things swiftly got worse with floods affecting seven districts and nearly 2 lakh people. While the state was still recovering from the devastating damages, a massive fire has engulfed a natural-gas producing Baghjan oil well of Oil India Limited (OIL) in upper Assam’s Tinsukia district. The fire has caused major destruction and all of this is happening while the state, like the rest of India, is battling a pandemic. The oil well had been leaking gas for 14 days and the blowout from the well caught fire on Tuesday.
According to locals, the thick black smoke from the fire can be seen from a distance of more than 30 km away. At least 6,000 people living in a 1.5-km radius of the natural gas producing well have been evacuated.
Visuals From Assam Show The Destruction From The Fire
Two firefighters of Oil India Ltd lost their lives and were found dead at a wetland near the site of a massive oil well fire in Assam. “Their bodies were recovered from a wetland near the site. Prima facie it looks that they jumped in the water and got drowned as there is no mark of burn injury. The exact cause will be ascertained only after a post mortem,” Oil India spokesperson Tridiv Hazarika said in a media statement. The pictures and videos being shared on social media are horrifying.
The gas well has been leaking from last 14 days but no media coverage as if no one cares about those houses,parts of forest,vehicles,fields which got burnt and the two firefighters who died.
Pray for all those people who became homeless#PrayForBaghjan #assamfire @mainhugyaani pic.twitter.com/ntwS5w1EBI— Alakesh Deka (@Alakesh_AD_Deka) June 10, 2020
Baghjan blowout in Tinsukia has caught fire. This is something the national media won't draw ur attention.
The area had seen a natural gas blowout for more than two weeks now. People nearby had been evacuated, but it's done horrifying damage to the biodiversity there.#assamfire pic.twitter.com/DFCuz9QPla— Hum dekhenge 🌹 (@ajith347) June 10, 2020
#Baghjan Tinsukia had a blowout on May 27 and has been leaking gas for the past 14 days. A massive fire has engulfed a natural-gas producing & no Indian media is covering. It's criminal how North East states have to face this ignorance#BaghjanGasLeak #BaghjanOilField #assamfire pic.twitter.com/uXZFgMFVRx
— Sandeep R. Kaushik (@skaushik2025) June 10, 2020
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, in a statement, said that it may take officials 25-28 days to control the fire. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Indian Air Force have been helping with evacuation and firefighting operations.
Many are blaming the rampant expansion drives of the company. “Trying to expand without following proper protocols and giving clearance only for the sake of development is always going to have devastating affects like these…#assamfire #OilIndiaLimited,” wrote a Twitter user, Vikrant Gupta, in his tweet. And others are blaming the government of Assam and Oil India for not taking action for 14 days that led to this disaster.
After nonstop leakage of Gas at Oil Well Baghjan (Assam) for last 14 days serious fire broke. Hope everyone around that area is safe and sound, Assam is an integral part of India and we stand by our brothers and sisters affected by it 🙏🏻 #assamfire #SaveBaghjanSaveAssam pic.twitter.com/jFRdAiEzG8
— Sonakshi Dogra (@DograSonakshi) June 10, 2020
Leak was unfortunate , but the negligence on part of gov of Assam and Oil India for 14 days lead to this disaster. Clearly both GOA and OIL India responsible and answerable.#AssamFire #SaveAssam #BaghjanGasLeak #savedehingpatkai #BaghjanOilField pic.twitter.com/v9ADqeTERv
— Arindam kharghoria (@Arindamkhargho2) June 10, 2020
The gas well has been leaking from last 14 days but no media coverage as if no one cares about those houses,parts of forest,vehicles,fields which got burnt and the two firefighters who died.
Pray for all those people who became homeless 🙏#BaghjanGasLeak #assamfire pic.twitter.com/f5yFRZahKM— Dildar Alom Chy (@dildar_chy) June 10, 2020
Oil India says it will take few more days to douse the fire. God save us! #PrayForBaghjan #AssamFire pic.twitter.com/TkBXVxKrLy
— Aruna (@arunadeka17) June 10, 2020
Our heart goes out to the people of Assam. We hope the fire is controlled soon and doesn’t lead to any more devastation.
Featured Image: Twitter
