Magisterial inquiry ordered into blast and fire at IOCL’s Koyali refinery

Vadodara: A magisterial inquiry has been initiated into the explosions and massive fire at the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd’s Gujarat Refinery in Koyali on November 11, which claimed the lives of two workers. Vadodara district collector Bijal Shah directed Rajesh Chauhan, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Vadodara rural, to lead the inquiry.

The SDM’s office issued a public notice stating the investigation will be conducted under Section 28 of The Petroleum Act, 1934, and Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The hearing is scheduled for November 26 at the SDM’s office, with all relevant parties required to attend.

The incident involved two blasts near benzene storage tanks, with the fire beginning at tank 68 around 3:30 pm and spreading to tank 69 by 8:30 pm. The fire was contained after a 10-hour operation involving 49 foam tenders from across Gujarat. The deceased workers were Dhimant Makwana from Anand district and Shailesh Makwana from Koyali village.

Following the disaster, the district collector instructed IOCL to conduct an internal investigation and form a committee. IOCL announced on November 12 that a high-level committee had been established to determine the cause of the incident. DeshGujarat