At least 19 workers were injured on Thursday in a blast in the refinery of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) at Barauni in Bihar, officials said. The incident took place at the furnace of the refinery’s atmospheric vacuum unit at around 10.30 am, they said.
Ankita Srivastava, corporate communication manager of IOCL said the injured workers were rushed to Barauni Refinery Hospital and a private hospital.
“All 19 injured workers are out of danger,” said Srivastava adding five are employees of the refinery, while the rest are contractual workers.
The accident did not cause any financial loss to the refinery and a team of technical experts has been formed to ascertain the exact cause of the incident, she said.
“The plant was shut down for a month. Work on getting it started was underway for the last two days. However, a unit suddenly exploded at around 10.30 am injuring the 19 workers,” said Srivastava.
Senior officials of the district administration also visited the spot, she said.
