The blaze in the periphery of Oil India Limited (OIL)’s gas well at Baghjan in upper Assam’s Tinsukia district has been extinguished, claimed OIL officials.
They said that at the moment only flowing gas is burning at the mouth of the well.
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“Now only the flowing gas is burning at the mouth of the well. We have declared an area with 1.5 km of radius as a red zone so that no outside person comes near the site. It is being done as a safety measure,” Oil India Ltd (OIL) senior manager (Public Affairs) Jayant Bormudoi told reporters on Thursday.
He said that the gas is flowing uncontrollably at a pressure of 4,500 psi (pounds per square inch) and it is “very very high” to control the leakage.
“Besides, no one is able to approach the well beyond 50 metres because of excessive heat. Our fire tenders are now spraying water and creating a water umbrella in the periphery. By cooling down the periphery, the experts are trying to approach slowly,” he explained.
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The well, which has been spewing gas uncontrollably for the last 16 days, caught fire on Tuesday afternoon, killing OIL’s two fire fighters at the site.
They were found dead in a wetland abutting the site of the major blaze.
The victims have been identified as Durlov Gogoi and Tikheswar Gohain, both assistant operators of the fire service department of the company.
The blaze at the well is so massive that it can be seen from a distance of more than 30 kms with thick black smoke rising several metres high.