Baghjan Fire Doused 172 Days After Blowout

In a major relief, the flame atop the Baghjan Well No 5 in Assam's Tinsukia district was doused, 172 days after the well had one of the country's biggest disastrous blowout.

The snubbing unit brought in by Oil India Limited (OIL) from Canada reached Baghjan on November 5 to tame the fire that has been raging since May 27 this year. The well caught fire on June 9. A five-member experts' team came from Canada's Calgary to carefully carry out the final well-killing operations.

Until now, all attempts to put out the fire have been futile, despite, continuous efforts made from experts who came from the US, Canada and Singapore in the last four months.

Meanwhile, in the process of dousing the fire, two firefighters and an electrical engineer lost their lives.

Additionally, OIL has been providing interim relief to over 3000 families who faced severe property damages and were living in makeshift relief camps. Moreover, Well No 5, one of 22 crude oil and natural gas wells in the Baghjan Oilfield is in close proximity to the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park. The blowout has affected the flora and fauna severely.

This is a developing story and more details are awaited.