A fire following a blast in a gas pipeline in India has killed “at least 14 people”, local media have reported.
The incident took place in the early hours of Friday (1am local time) in Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district, after a fire occured in a pipeline belonging to the largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company in India, Gail.
The fire was extinguished by mid-morning and the gas had been cut off, a senior administrative officer told reporters from the scene.
State-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has shut two of its gas fields that were supplying the fire-hit pipeline.
According to local reports, 13 bodies were recovered from the accident site while another death was reported from the hospital where around 20 injured – three critically – are being treated.
“The reasons for the accident are not known yet. We are currently focused on rescue and relief operations,” said Gail chairman, Shri Tripathi.
The state government has ordered an inquiry and will set an action plan to avoid similar accidents in future, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu told the media.
The incident was the most deadly in the Indian energy sector since August 2013, when 28 people were killed in a fire at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation’s refinery at Vizag in Andhra Pradesh.