Gas leak at ONGC well in Andhra sparks inferno, four-km radius evacuated
Mori (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): A gas leak at an ONGC well here in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district operated by its production contractor sparked an inferno on Monday, leading to the evacuation of two villages within a four-km radius.
However, no deaths or casualties have been reported so far, an official of the Maharatna public sector company said.
"The fire occurred due to a gas pipeline leakage at the Mori-5 well, which is operated by Deep Industries Ltd as part of production enhancement operations," an ONGC official told PTI.
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Residents of neighbouring Irusumanda and Lakkavaram villages were evacuated to safer locations.
The number of evacuees is not immediately available.
Around 10 fire tenders are currently at the site battling the fire.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inquired about the fire accident and directed officials to prioritise dousing the flames.
Following the gas leak, senior officials of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) from Rajahmundry rushed to Well Mori-5 located in Malkipuram mandal to assess the situation and ascertain the cause of the fire.
The Konaseema district administration is also responding to the incident and coordinating the firefighting and safety measures at the site.
The district collector, superintendent of police, deputy collector and ONGC officials are monitoring the situation at a secretariat located 100 metres away from the inferno.
Initially, a thick white cloud of gas blanketed the surrounding paddy fields and coconut groves.
The gas eventually ignited, creating a towering inferno that could be seen across the Godavari River delta.
Videos of local police and the workers in orange, red and blue running for their lives went viral as a couple of fire tenders were seen nearby, according to PTI Videos.
The fire has broken out amidst newly planted rabi season paddy crops and palm trees. Thick smoke continued to billow over the agricultural heartland.
In a release, ONGC said, "An incident of gas leakage during workover operations at Well Mori-5 was reported by the PEC operator, Deep Industries Limited, at the Mori field."
The well is located in a remote area, with no human habitation within a radius of approximately 600 metres.
The affected area has been cordoned off, cooling operations have commenced, and ONGC has mobilised its Crisis Management Teams (CMT and RCMT), the oil and gas major said.
Preparatory work is underway to facilitate well control and, if required, capping of the well.
ONGC has also initiated coordination with international well-control specialists, the release said.
Mobilisation arrangements have been activated to support advanced well-control and casing-cutting operations, subject to site assessment.
ONGC's senior management and technical experts are closely monitoring the situation, while additional equipment is being mobilised from nearby locations, including Rustumbada village near Narsapuram in West Godavari district.
Deep Industries Ltd, a Production Enhancement Contractor (PEC) of ONGC, had secured a Rs 1,402-crore contract in 2024 for production enhancement operations at ONGC's Rajahmundry Asset in Andhra Pradesh, according to reports.
The company has been operating the Mori-5 well for about a year, the official said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
