Committee begins probe into IOC fire

Jaipur, Nov 2 (PTI) A committee set by the Petroleum
Ministry to probe into the causes of the devastating fire at
the Indian Oil Corp (IOC) depot near Jaipur (the capital of
India's northern state of Rajasthan) began its inquiry Monday
by visiting the site.
The seven-member committee headed by former Chairman
and Managing Director of HPCL M B Lal will go into the causes
behind the fire that has claimed 12 lives and suggest holistic
safety measures to the ministry, official sources said here.
The committee members, accompanied by civil and police
authorities, visited the site and surrounding fire affected
areas, and talked to people to collect first hand information
about the blaze that has been raging for five days now.
The committee members include Executive Director of
Oil Industry Safety Director (OISD) J P Verma and Rajasthan
Petroleum Secretary Govind Sharma.
The team has to submit the report within six weeks.
Twelve people have been killed in the inferno which
started when petrol was being transferred from the depot to a
pipeline at the IOC depot in Sitapura industrial area. PTI