Cylinder explosion at Oil canteen in Assam's Tengakhat, one seriously injured

A cylinder explosion at a canteen located within an Oil India Limited (OIL) installation in Assam's Dibrugarh district left one person seriously injured on Sunday, November 8 afternoon, triggering fresh concerns over safety at the company's facilities in the Tengakhat area.

The explosion occurred at around 3 pm at the OIL-run canteen in Murani, Block No. 4 of Kharikatia, near Tengakhat. According to preliminary information, the cylinder exploded suddenly, with the impact of the blast being heard across the locality, leaving residents and people working in nearby areas shaken.

One person associated with the canteen sustained serious injuries in the explosion. Local residents and the administration rushed the injured man to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. His condition was reported to be serious.

The incident comes just two days after a major explosion and fire at OIL's intermediate tank farm in Tengakhat, which claimed four lives. The fire broke out on November 6 during maintenance work at the facility. The death toll rose to four on November 8 after another injured worker, identified as Sailen Gogoi, a resident of Padumoni village in Tengakhat, succumbed to his burn injuries at Aastha Hospital in Dibrugarh.

All the workers killed or injured in the November 6 incident were employed by Spectron Engineering Private Limited, a Mumbai-based company engaged by OIL for maintenance-related work.

Following the incident, OIL announced ex-gratia compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh each for those injured. The company also suspended three officers and one employee over alleged negligence in connection with the explosion and subsequent fire.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who represents Dibrugarh in the Lok Sabha, has called for a high-level investigation into the circumstances leading to the November 6 explosion.

The latest cylinder blast has brought renewed attention to safety arrangements at OIL installations in Tengakhat, particularly following the fatal incident at the intermediate tank farm earlier this week