At least four people were killed and three sustained injuries after an Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) plant at Uran, Navi Mumbai region, caught fire on Tuesday, September 3 at around 7 am.

The state-run oil and gas company stated that the fire was successfully doused within two hours by the fire department. It also said that the fire had not impacted the oil processing unit and gas has been diverted to the Hazira plant in Gujarat.

Three Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jawans of the Fire Wing (ONGC Unit), E Nayaka, MK Paswan and SP Kushwaha were killed in the line of duty.

"The CISF salutes the supreme sacrifice of CISF Fire Wing bravehearts who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty during the fire-fighting operations at ONGC Uran, Navi Mumbai," the CISF said in a tribute.

The cause of the fire has not been ascertained yet. The fire was brought under control after nearly three hours and cooling operations are underway at the site.

The fire has affected supplies of the domestic, industrial and vehicular gas network in Mumbai spread across the city including parts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad, where gas companies serve lakhs of consumers.

ONGC fire
The ONGC Uran plant in Navi Mumbai caught fire on September 3, 2019.

The Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL)spokesperson IANS that gas supply to its City Gate Station, Wadala has been badly affected. "We are ensuring that supply to domestic Piped Natural Gas (PNG) consumers would be maintained on priority without interruption. However, many Compressed Natural Gas stations in Mumbai may not operate due to low pressure in the pipeline," the spokesperson said.

The gas distribution company has issued a notice advising industrial and commercial customers to switch over to alternate fuel till the gas supplies across its network are restored by ONGC.