Visakhapatnam: Minor gas leak at HPCL Visakha refinery

Visakhapatnam: Tension prevailed following minor gas leak at the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) refinery in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

The incident triggered panic among workers as hundreds of them were at the site during the gas leak. They scurried to safety as soon as they heard the blaring of the siren. An army of fire brigade rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control in a swift manner.

Fortunately, no casualty was reported. Later, the HPCL management released a statement mentioning that a minor release of hydrocarbon vapour during equipment handover activity in MEROX unit of HPCL – Visakha Refinery was the cause of the incident.

The statement added that the situation was brought under control immediately by the refinery personnel.

The HPCL management mentioned that no one was injured in the incident or any damage registered at the unit.

It may be recalled that earlier in May, a major fire broke out at HPCL- Visakha Refinery's Distillation Unit Block-3, causing panic among the personnel and the locals.