A fire at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited’s Visakhapatnam refinery in Malkapuram was brought under control on Monday night, with no casualties or injuries reported, while authorities ordered an enquiry into industrial safety at the facility.
The fire was reported at about 10pm on November 2 and was confined to a pitch intermediate storage tank in the refinery’s sulfur unit, according to HPCL. The company said its Fire and Safety Team immediately activated firefighting and emergency response measures after the incident was detected.
In a statement posted on X, HPCL said the fire was localised to the pitch tank area and brought under control within a short time. The company added that all units at the refinery were operating safely after the incident and that there had been no casualties.
Malkapuram Circle Inspector E Narasimha Rao said the fire involved sulfur pitch, described as a waste or bottom product generated in the refinery’s sulfur unit. HPCL’s own fire tenders were deployed to tackle the blaze, and no external assistance was required, he said.
“There are no casualties, no injuries and no major issues. Everyone is safe, and there is no need for panic,” Rao said, according to the report.
Revenue Divisional Officer Dileep Chakravarthy visited the site after the fire. He said the blaze had been completely extinguished using the firefighting equipment installed at the refinery and resources deployed by the Andhra Pradesh Fire Department.
Chakravarthy also said a small blast had been reported at the facility before the fire broke out. He said an enquiry would be initiated to examine industrial safety at the refinery in accordance with applicable norms. The official reiterated that no injuries or casualties had been reported and asked people not to panic.
The incident nevertheless caused concern in the surrounding area. Eyewitnesses told the Times of India that the flames rising from the refinery were large enough to frighten people nearby, and one eyewitness said people moved away from the area after seeing the blaze.
The refinery’s sulfur unit is the part of the facility identified by authorities and HPCL as the location of the incident. The reported safety enquiry is expected to examine the circumstances leading to the blast and fire, the performance of the facility’s firefighting systems and compliance with applicable industrial-safety norms. No further details of the enquiry timeline were provided in the available report.
