On the afternoon of the 23 rd of August 2013, a fire broke out in the HPCL Vizag refinery. A hydrocarbon leakage had went unnoticed in one of the underground pipes to the cooling tower and when the partially completed tower was started these leaked hydrocarbons found an ignition source and exploded. The fire caused as many as 29 fatalities while many others sustained varying degrees of burn injuries. The Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) investigated the possible sequence of events and issued safety recommendations to prevent disasters of such kind. The video animation shows the possible sequence of events and also lists the recommendations of the OISD. Reference: |