One person died and another was injured in an accident in the Bharat Petroleum Refinery in Kochi on Sunday.
According to reports, the accident took place on Sunday morning in the Petro FCC unit, when the cover of a heat exchanger was opened for maintenance work and fell on the victims, killing one and injuring another. The deceased has been identified as V Rajesh (34), from TV Puram in Vaikom. The other person, who suffered a fracture to his leg, was Anil Kumar (38), a resident of Pallikkara in Ernakulam district.
V Rajesh and Anil Kumar were employed at Brothers Engineering, which engages in maintenance work in the refinery on a contract basis. V Rajesh was reportedly the sole breadwinner in his family. Meanwhile, Anil Kumar has been admitted to the Medical Trust Hospital in Kochi for treatment.
While refinery officials are conducting an investigation into the incident to ascertain what took place, this is not the first time that such reports have come to light.
In 2017, at least three people were injured in an explosion in the gas turbine unit of the plant. The incident happened during maintenance works and lead to suspension of operations for 12 hours even as the injured were admitted at a local private hospital in the city.
In 2016, two migrant workers died after a 30-feet-tall scaffold fell on them in a freak accident. The victims, from Jharkhand, were engaged in floor work under the scaffold when the structure collapsed on them. Though they were rushed to hospital, they succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.
According to the BPCL’s own website, the refinery located at Ambalamugal near Kochi, presently has a crude oil refining capacity of 15.5 Million Metric Tonnes per Annum (MMTPA). While it started in 1966 with a capacity of 50,000 barrels per day, its present capacity is 190,000 barrels per day.