Blast on ONGC vessel at Cochin shipyard kills 5

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At least five people died and seven others were injured after a blast on board an under-repair drilling ship at the Cochin Shipyard in Kerala on Tuesday.

The explosion occurred in the water tank of the ship Sagar Bhushan, owned by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), and was triggered by a gas leak, said Madhu Nair, chairman and managing director (CMD) of the shipyard. He also ruled out any foul play. The stateowned ONGC put the time of the blast at 9.15am.

“Ship repair is one of the most dangerous jobs and we do take enough safety procedures. Despite strong measures, it is sad such a tragedy took place. It seems to be a freak accident and we don’t see sabotage angle in the mishap,” the CMD said.

The cause of the explosion is being ascertained, ONGC added in a statement.

Union minister for road transport and shipping Nitin Gadkari directed the government-owned shipyard, the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India, to constitute a high-level inquiry into the accident.

“Shocked by the unfortunate blast in the shipyard. I have spoken to the MD of the shipyard and asked him to provide all necessary medical support to victims and initiate an immediate inquiry,” Gadkari tweeted.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan also expressed his condolences to the affected families. Kochi police commissioner MP Dinesh said the fire was brought under control in an hour and most of the workers died due to suffocation and burn injuries. Of the seven injured, two are reported to be in a critical condition, police added.

Officials said a major tragedy was averted because Tuesday was a holiday and a minimum number of employees were present when the accident took place.

The drill ship was berthed at the shipyard since December 7 to undergo mandatory repairs.

“Loud noise indicates there was a gas consolidation. We have to find out how gas consolidation took place in the water tank,” Nair said in Kochi.