Bhubaneswar: Although five days have passed since the fuel station blast near Raj Bhawan here, which has claimed one life and left many injured, the agencies probing the mishap are yet to lay hand on any concrete evidence regarding the cause of the blast.
Experts from Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and the officials of Commissionerate Police have been investigating into the mishap. Experts from the State Forensic Science Laboratory have been doing a chemical examination of the human body parts and other materials seized from the spot.
While the investigating agencies have been probing into all the angles into the possible reasons for the blast, they are yet to ascertain its root cause.
The Commissionerate Police have succeeded in obtaining incriminating information from the CCTV footage of the place and call detail records of some workers engaged there during the deadly explosion.
Police sources reveal that a person was spotted talking over mobile phone near the LPG tank when refilling was going on. This revelation has given rise to speculations regarding the cause of the explosion and many believe that the blast occurred owing to use of mobile phone during the refilling.
When asked to comment on the issue, Commissioner of police, Sudhanshu Sarangi told Orissa POST, “We are yet to arrive at any conclusion regarding the actual reason behind the explosion. It is true that a person was seen in the CCTV footage talking on mobile phone. However, mobile phone use is one among the several possibilities. Other includes sparks from the electrical earthing or starting of a vehicle. So, we are yet to come at a conclusion. Investigation is on.”
Similarly, Dr. Ruab Ali, the Deputy Chief Controller of PESO told Orissa POST, “We are yet to get the CCTV footage from the Commissionerate Police. We can arrive at a conclusion when we receive them. They will hand over the CCTV footage data only after their probe process ends.”
“However, before concluding that use of mobile phone had caused the explosion, we will go through the actual radio frequency of the mobile phone which was used by the worker at the time. We will check whether the mobile phone had that much of frequency to trigger the blast,” added Ali.
The IOCL authorities informed that an expert team of the corporation will submit its report within two to three days and they will shortly reveal the details regarding the explosion to the media. Sources in the IOCL further revealed that the possibility of a lit cigarette butt thrown by some customers at the OMFED stall adjacent to the blast spot may have triggered the explosion. “We cannot rule out this aspect completely,” he said.
Meanwhile, the IOCL authorities have sealed the petrol pump as frequent visits of people to accident spot are posing as a concern for the experts.
On the other hand, the state government has been mulling checking the security and safety measures at petrol pumps across the state.
