A massive fire broke out at a biodiesel factory in the southern Indian port city of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The blaze is yet to be controlled. More than 40 fire tenders have been deployed. No casualties have been reported so far.
Visakhapatnam District Collector N Yuvaraj, who was at the accident site, said that nearly 40 fire fighting engines from Navy, Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, and Port Trust were making all out efforts to contain the fire, that has erupted at the Bioxmax Fuels Ltd company premises in Duvvada area at around 7.30 PM yesterday.
The Collector said that out of 18 storage tanks located at the site, 12 has caught fire. It is expected to be brought under control by this evening as the entire oil in
the tanks has to burn out completely, he said.
"On getting news from the state administration, the Eastern Naval Command launched two aircraft for aerial reconnaissance and assessment of the extent of fire. Navy's Quick Reaction Team (QRT) and an ambulance with medical team were rushed to the site of the fire accident along with the fire tenders," the Eastern Naval Command said in a statement.
Standby arrangements have been made at the Naval hospital, INHS Kalyani, for providing assistance in case of medical emergency, it said.
By Premji
