One more death at Baghjan in Assam, fire still not doused

A young electrical engineer of Oil India Limited (OIL) died on Wednesday while working on efforts to douse the fire in a natural gas well at Baghjan in Assam's Tinsukia district, which blew out more than three months ago.

The OIL said the electrical engineer, Arnab Kishore Bordoloi fell down and lost consciousness while working with some equipment at the site. He was declared dead at Assam Medical College and Hospital in Dibrugarh, about 70-km away. It is suspected that Bordoloi died due to electrocution.

This was the third death at Baghjan mishap site since the gas well caught fire on June 9. Two firefighters of OIL died on June 9 itself while trying to control the fire.

Two foreign experts, who have been engaged by OIL to plug the gas well and control the fire were also injured last month. A blowout preventer was successfully placed on the opening of the well on August 17, but they could not control the fire even on Wednesday. The OIL had earlier decided to divert gas from the well and work for the same was underway.

The gas well under Baghjan oilfields, about 500-km east of Guwahati was spewing natural gas and condensate since a blowout on May 27.

Several houses were burnt down, tea gardens, agricultural land damaged while the condensate flowing out of the well had adverse impact on Maguri-Motapung beel, an ecologically rich water body situated near the mishap site.

A study by Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India found that over 60 to 70 hectares of land in and around the mishap site were destroyed due to uncontrollable flow of condensate and fire.