Agartala: Fire broke out at an abandoned ONGC gas well in Tripura on Friday and took ten fire tenders an eight hour battle to extinguish, officials said.
“Fire broke out today (Friday) afternoon at the ONGC’s (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) deserted gas well at Gojalia in Subroom subdivision (in southern Tripura).
“Ten fire tenders, including two of ONGC, managed to doused the flames at 9.45 p.m. after an eight hours struggle,” South Tripura district police chief Bhanupada Chakraborty told IANS over phone.
Chakraborty, who is camping in the spot, 140 km south of Agartala, said that the well was abandoned by the ONGC about 20 years ago and it was sealed.
“All of a sudden after leakage of some gas, huge fire broke out in the well in a tribal dominated areas and ten fire tenders and ONGC experts have rushed to the spot to control the fire,” the police official added.
There was, however, no major damage or any injury yet.
The police official said that some panicky people, those residing nearby the danger areas have been immediately shifted to faraway places and a large security forces were deployed to control the crowd and the situation as well. No officials from ONGC were available to know the further details. The areas is close to Bangladesh border. (IANS)
Rajnath seeks report on security lapse in Manipur
Imphal: Home Minister Rajnath Singh has sought a report on how two former insurgents sheltered in a Manipur Rifles camp were shot dead.
The killers escaped after the audacious Tuesday evening attack.
Ningombam Nabachandra, a former chairman of the outlawed group PREPAK, and his driver-cum-bodyguard Leishangthem Sanjit were in a supposedly safe house in the heavily guarded camp at Khabeisoi in Imphal district.
Somehow, gunmen of the “Red Army”, the military wing of PREPAK, sneaked into the camp, shot dead both men and escaped unnoticed by the guards and hundreds of personnel in the camp. Nabachandra had signed the suspension of operations against the government along with some others and had been staying inside the camp for security reasons. The PREPAK on Friday claimed responsibility for the killings and asked nine other former insurgents to surrender to the outfit. (IANS)
