Major fire at Indian oil depot, 6 killed, 150 injured
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New Delhi - A huge fire engulfed an oil depot in India's north-western state of Rajasthan Friday, leaving six people dead and nearly 150 injured, while authorities evacuated an estimated 500,000 people from the area, media reports said.
The fire also caused two tankers to explode, shaking the surrounding area, the report said.
Television images showed the blaze still raging some 16 hours after it began, with thick black smoke and flames as high as 9 metres rising from the depot.
Government officials confirmed six deaths but said no foreign tourists were among the victims, the report said. The desert state of Rajasthan is among India's most popular holiday des
tinations.
Six staffers of the IOC, India's second-largest refiner, were still trapped and chances of their survival were bleak, the IANS news agency reported.
The wounded were admitted to hospitals in Jaipur and half of the victims had sustained burn injuries.