A fire broke out in a naphtha pipeline of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. on in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal early on Tuesday morning, leaving one person dead and 17 injured.

Efforts to contain the fire continued till late in the evening. The fire broke out at around 4 a.m. on Tuesday (June 30), and within moments, the fire spread to Chiranjeevpur in Ward No. 13 of Haldia Municipality. Local residents came out of their homes in panic.

Locals say that during the early hours of the morning there was an explosion with a loud sound in the Haldia Petrochemicals pipeline. After that, the fire spread quickly. Several houses in the vicinity caught fire. Since areas surrounding railway tracks were also affected by fire, railway services were temporarily affected.

Also Read | Fire breaks out at Sector 119 Noida’s Aranya Society, rescue operations on

A statement issued by Haldia Petrochemicals said that they are extending all necessary support to the concerned authorities.

“Preliminary information suggests that the incident may have occurred in the vicinity of an unauthorized naphtha theft point located in the plant vicinity. Naphtha is a highly combustible and extremely flammable hydrocarbon, and the company has consistently cautioned local communities against any unauthorized access to or handling of petroleum products due to the serious safety risks involved,” the statement said.

Haldia Petrochemicals said that the exact cause of the incident is currently under investigation in coordination with the relevant authorities.