Efforts are on to extinguish the fire at Butcher's Island in Mumbai (File Photo)
Efforts are still on to extinguish the fire that broke out at a fuel tank farm of the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) here last evening and the residual high-speed diesel is expected to take until tomorrow morning to burn out.
The fire had started at an oil tank on Butcher Island off the eastern coast of Mumbai last evening.
"The fire is under control, and limited to one tank. As flames rage on top, we are evacuating fuel from the bottom and simultaneously putting water and foam to contain the flames," MbPT deputy chairman YA Wanage told PTI this evening.
Through the day, firefighting personnel from multiple agencies continued their efforts to put out the blaze as smoke billowed from the state-run BPCL's tank No 13 on Butcher Island, also called Jawahar Dweep.
Mr Wanage said the 30,000-KL tank, which was filled to capacity when it caught fire at around 4.30 pm yesterday, still has 20 per cent fuel at the top. Unless it burns out, the fire cannot be doused completely.
It will take at least till tomorrow morning for the flames to die, he said.
BPCL executive director and head of safety Manohar Rao said an external agency specialising in foam-spraying has been commissioned to help contain the fire faster. Necessary equipment is on the way from Vadodara in Gujarat, he said.
Butcher Island is home to a 'tank farm' housing storage facilities of refining majors as well as that of MbPT.
Carriers dock off the island and discharge fuel which is stored and later transported to nearby refineries through submerged pipelines.
Mr Wanage said the fuel in adjoining tanks is also being emptied as a precaution.
Port operations, especially on the liquid cargo side, are hit since yesterday, and as per the port authorities, they will resume tomorrow, he said.
Both Mr Wanage and Mr Rao said lightning strike was the cause of the fire, even as a detailed inquiry is underway. Mumbai and surrounding areas had received thundershowers yesterday.
Mr Rao said insurance surveyors visited the site today and both BPCL and the port will be making claims. Tank No 13 will have to be replaced, he said.
Officials from the city fire brigade, helped by BPCL's own firefighting unit and the port's in-house firefighting personnel are jointly trying to extinguish the blaze.
"Firefighting as well as the cooling operations are on.
Foam and other extinguishing agents are being used for the purpose," Mumbai fire brigade chief PS Rahangdale said.