Firefighting continues at Vizag methanol tank, struck by thunderbolt

Visakhapatnam, Sep 8 (PTI) A multi-agency firefighting team, including the Indian Navy, has been working since September 7 to douse a large methanol storage tank, burning after it was struck by a thunderbolt here, following heavy rain, said a fire official on Monday.

Visakhapatnam district fire officer S Renukaiah said a 7,000-kilolitre methanol tank belonging to the East India Petroleum Pvt Ltd caught fire around 1 pm on Sunday and has been burning ever since.

"On Sunday afternoon, we received a call around 1:30 pm that a thunderbolt struck a methanol storage tank and that it caught fire," Renukaiah told PTI, adding that they immediately started the firefight, along with reinforcements from the Visakhapatnam Port Trust, HPCL, GAIL and others.

By the time we started firefighting, the tank's top lid was open due to thunderbolt, as per the preliminary information; the exact cause is yet to be ascertained, he said.

According to the district fire officer, they are spraying foam and water continuously and also working towards averting the blaze from spreading to other tanks, which also contain combustible fluids, including diesel and low-density diesel.

He said the Indian Navy has also chipped in with its chopper to spray foam and water atop the tank.

Further, the fire officials are also draining out methanol from the affected tank to avert aggravating the blaze, with 3,300 kilolitres already removed.

Renukaiah said they are also cooling off neighbouring tanks while the fire is being doused from four directions.

According to Renukaiah, methanol is a highly combustible liquid that cannot be put off and observed that the entire volume of the liquid should be exhausted for the fire to be put off.

He said the firefighting operation could run into late night today and added that it has been burning continuously since Sunday afternoon.

However, he noted that the situation is under control but continuous firefighting operations are underway.

Fortunately, Renukaiah said there were no casualties or injuries.

According to an Eastern Naval Command (ENC) press release, fire and foam tenders from industrial agencies and the Indian Navy responded promptly to extinguish the fire.

Likewise, the Navy has deployed a Seaking helicopter with an underslung fire bucket in the firefighting effort.

"The helicopter undertook multiple sorties from INS Dega, dropping large quantities of water and foam over the seat of the fire, bringing down the temperature and suppressing the flames," said the press release. PTI STH ADB