the goan I network
VASCO
According to an eye witness, the old pipeline was decommissioned and was tendered out as scrap to a scrap dealer. “The incident occurred at about 9 am when a worker was cutting the pipe that was running over the CISF check from the barge berth to the IOC,” added the eye witness.
“As the worker started to cut the pipe with a gas welding flame, sparks fell on the old residue of oil sludge and as it was petroleum product, thick fumes started emitting from the pipe and in next few minutes it died off,” said the eye witness.
Vasco fire service was alerted, but by the time the fire tender could reach the site, the fire was doused off and the Vasco fire fighters had to spray some water to cool the pipe, said the eye witness.
According to a source at MPT, it was an old pipeline which was used to pump petroleum products to the oil tanks at Vasco and the pipeline was decommissioned for the last four years, as it was not in use.
“Luckily, the pipeline was decommissioned about four years back and if it had to be in use, it would have led to a major incident in the port town,” said the source.
“I remember the fire that broke out to a pipeline near El-Monte Theatre near Desterro in 2002. People left behind everything and fled for their life to save their lives,” added the source.
It may be recalled that in a similar incident on July 11, 2002, a fire broke out to a pipeline near El-Monte Theatre at Desterro, however no one was injured in the incident.
In another incident on August 19, fire broke out to a multi-utility petroleum pipeline at Varunapuri when the contractor of the four-lane highway ruptured the pipeline while carrying out excavation work of the road, claiming five lives.
