Another worker dies of burn injuries toll in Assam oil facility explosion reaches 5

    Dibrugarh, Nov 10 (PTI) The death toll in an explosion at an Oil India Limited (OIL) facility in Assam's Dibrugarh district rose to five on Tuesday after another worker succumbed to his burn injuries, officials said.

    The deceased, identified as 39-year-old Kumud Gogoi, died while undergoing treatment at a private hospital, they said.

    Gogoi, a resident of Borbeel Dighalia in Tengakhat, was employed as a semi-skilled helper at the company.

    A fire broke out on November 4 during maintenance work at Oil India's Intermediate Tank Farm (ITF) in Tengakhat, following an explosion, according to a statement issued by the public sector undertaking (PSU).

    An Intermediate Tank Farm is a facility where petroleum products are temporarily stored before being transferred for further processing or transportation.

    Another worker, Indra Gogoi, who sustained severe burn injuries in the explosion, was airlifted to Delhi on Monday for advanced medical treatment.

    One more worker with severe burn injuries is undergoing treatment at the private hospital, officials said.

    Nine workers were present at the site when the incident occurred. Seven of them sustained injuries, and five subsequently died.

    Besides Kumud Gogoi, the deceased have been identified as Raju Dutta, Rupam Gohain, Tapas Jyoti Gogoi and Shailen Gogoi.

    All the deceased and injured workers were employees of Spectron Engineering Private Limited, a Mumbai-based company engaged by Oil India for maintenance work at the facility.

    Meanwhile, OIL has instituted a high-level inquiry into the incident and suspended four of its employees, including three officers, who were in charge of the Intermediate Tank Farm, an official said.

    The PSU has announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased worker and Rs 5 lakh to each injured person.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)