Gas leak at ONGC well in Andhra's Konaseema triggers fire; no casualties
Mori (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): A gas pipeline leakage at a well in Dr B R Ambedkar Konaseema district, operated by ONGC’s production contractor Deep Industries Ltd, caught fire on Monday.
There were no reports of death or injury, according to preliminary information, an official of the Maharatna company said.
Following the gas leakage and the subsequent fire, senior officials of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) from Rajahmundry rushed to Mori village, where the blaze broke out at the Mori-5 well, the official 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," the official told PTI.
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ONGC officials have reached the site to assess the situation and analyse the cause of the incident, he said.
The Konaseema district administration is also attending to the incident and coordinating firefighting and safety measures at the site.
Deep Industries Ltd is a Production Enhancement Contractor (PEC) of ONGC and had won 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 added.
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Odisha govt halts salaries of 5 teachers after school fire injures 4 students
Bhubaneswar (PTI): The Odisha government on Tuesday halted the salaries of five teachers and issued show-cause notices to other staff of a state-run high school in Rayagada district, a day after four students sustained severe burn injuries in a fire incident on the premises of the institute.
School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond told PTI that he has directed the department secretary to submit a detailed report on the incident and ordered a departmental inquiry to ascertain negligence, if any.
The students suffered burn injuries while playing around a fire during school hours.
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“The department has stopped the salaries of five teachers and issued show-cause notices to other staff members in connection with the incident,” he said.
The minister said that further action would be taken against teachers or staff if negligence in duty was established.
School and Mass Education Secretary N Thirumala Naik said three of the injured students were undergoing treatment at a hospital in Rayagada, while one critically injured student has been shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.
The school headmaster had lodged a complaint at Muniguda police station on Monday. Police have recorded statements of the injured students, officials said.
According to preliminary findings, the incident occurred when a classmate of the injured students allegedly threw colour thinner, an inflammable substance, onto a fire that had been lit by the students on the school building’s balcony.
Muniguda police station in-charge inspector Saudamini Behera said the students were playing on the school roof around 2 pm on Monday when they found a bottle of thinner stored there.
They allegedly poured it on the floor and set it on fire using a matchstick. One of the boys later added more thinner, causing the flames to flare up and injure four students, she said.
