Mumbai: A major fire this evening engulfed BHN, an off-shore drilling platform of the country's largest petroleum company Oil and Natural Gas Limited (ONGC) in Bombay High Field, 160 kms away from the Mumbai coast. Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar told reporters in New Delhi this evening that around 300 people are trapped on board the damaged platform, supply vessel and wreck. The exact cause of the fire, which occurred between 4 to 4.30 p.m. is not known yet, but it has been reported that a rig collided with the platform resulting in an immediate fire. A nearby supply vessel also caught fire. Aiyar informed that Indian Navy and Coast Guard vessels have been called in to carry out the rescue efforts. All other support and supply vessels have been directed to reach the place of accident. Aiyar further said that some of the personnel had managed to leave the platform in lifeboats, whereas others had crossed a bridge to another platform. So far, there is no confirmed data available about the casualties. "Many of the people are still stranded. We do not know the exact number of lost lives. The ONGC is assessing the damage and at present, we are concentrating on saving the lives and providing medical facilities to the injured," said Aiyar. Medical teams have been deployed and night landing facilities have been activated. Aiyar also said that unfortunately, the entire Pawan Hans helicopter fleet available at Mumbai on-shore is grounded due to incessant rains. Those helicopters which are available off-shore could only be brought into action. The Minister also informed that he had talked to State Chief Minister Vilasrao Desmukh to make choppers from other places also available so that those with burns, fractures and other injuries could be given medical assistance.

     The platform is completely destroyed and it would take several months to reconstruct it again, he said. Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee has issued necessary orders to put the Navy and the Coast Guard both on alert to deal with any evolving situation. Due to the high waves and heavy rainfall, it is getting difficult to put in place the rescue operations. Aiyar further offered his sympathies to bereaved family members, and said that the first priority of the government and his ministry was to save the lives of trapped personnel. The second priority, he said was to contain any pollution affect and third was to ascertain the impact on oil production. ONGC Chairman Subir Raha will leave for Mumbai at the earliest and Aiyar will head for the site after attending an important Parliamentary meeting in New Delhi tomorrow. Aiyar further expressed doubts over landing situation in Mumbai and said that he would make his best efforts to reach the site somehow. Raha said that oil output may suffer to the tune of several tens of thousands of production.

     Commissioned 30 years ago, Bombay High alone contributes 40 per cent of ONGC's crude production. Another 14 fields produce 35 per cent of the total. The remaining 100 fields contribute just 25 per cent. The field produces 14 percent of the oil India consumes and accounts for about 38 percent of all domestic production. The Mumbai High Oil field, one of the most-prolific producers of Sweet and Light crude in the world, was brought into production around thirty years ago 'in 1976. In February this year, Crude Oil production from Mumbai High reached the level of 2,70,000 Barrels of Oil Per Day (BOPD). The field is situated about 160 km west of Mumbai city in the Arabian Sea. It is the India's largest and most prolific oilfield. It is 75 km long and 25 km wide. The Mumbai High field is divided into the north and south blocks. The principal producer here is the L-III reservoir. A zone of relatively low permeability in the L-III reservoir acts as a barrier between these two blocks, facilitating independent exploitation of the north and south fields. ONGC is India's largest company by value, with a market capitalisation of about 32 billion dollar.

Army for rescue in rain-hit Maharashtra (Go To Top)

     Mumbai/New Delhi: The Army has been called in to assist civil administration for rescue and relief operation in Maharashtra and Kerala affected by heavy monsoon rains during the past 24 hours. About five thousand jawans of the armed forces have been deployed to carry out to rescue efforts. The Indian Air Force has deployed two Mi-17 helicopters in the city for relief operations. One Mi-8 helicopter was also despatched from Jamnagar to assist the Army. A press release by the Indian Air Force said that two AN-32s carrying relief and rescue materials and boats for Army were deployed from Pune and Jodhpur each. "Apart from the Army, Air Force and Navy jawans deployed, two companies of the CRPF have been called from Pune to help in the relief work in Mumbai suburbs," state government sources said here. The Army Flood Relief Columns have been stationed in major cities of the state like Pune, Raigarh, Ratnagiri, Mumbai, Thane and Parbhani. Engineer task forces are working round the clock to repair the roads and bridges which have been severely damaged. Army jawans have also been rushed to Badlapur, Ambarnath, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan and Dombivli areas in neighbouring Thane district to help in relief work, the sources said. Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh is directly supervising the relief and rescue operations and has declared a public holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act in Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts, which are worst-affected by the heavy rains. According to reports, hundreds of people are stranded as the rail, road and air traffic have come to a complete halt. The State Government, however, claimed of making necessary arrangements to provide temporary shelter and drinking water to commuters stranded at various suburban railway stations. Meanwhile, the train services have started limping back to normalcy as railway authorities have partially restored service on the Central and Western lines.There are reports of resumption of train services between Churchgate and Mahalaxmi and between Bandra and Virar. But tracks in the areas of Mahim, Matunga and Dadar are still flooded. However, trains are running from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) to Dadar every half an hour.

     Meanwhile, in New Delhi, hundreds of passengers remained stranded at the airport as civil airlines have announced the cancellation of all the flights to Mumbai. "Since 7 am we have been waiting here. We saw Praful Patel's statement saying there is no flight to Bombay till the evening. So they should confirm us before picking us up," said Ravi Sharma, a stranded passenger. Flights to and from Mumbai have been cancelled due to heavy water-logging on the runway and non-availability of landing aids there, for the second consecutive day today. Many international flights have been diverted to other destinations. Weather officials have said that the rains were due to a low- pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.

Maharashtra reels under heavy rains, death toll 61 (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: With rains continuing to lash the city of Mumbai and its outskirts for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, at least seven deaths have been reported in Mumbai and total 61 in the state, while essential services like transport and electricity have gone out of gear. Two boys reportedly drowned in an overflowing sewer in Marol- Maroshi suburbs. Four persons have died in wall collapses in Appa Pada, Kandivli and Damupada areas. Another boy was reported as having drowned at Goregaon Vibhatti The death toll across Maharashtra has climbed to 61, most of them occurring in the inaccessible districts of Raigad and Ratnagiri, official sources said. Overnight showers have prevented thousands of office-goers from reaching their places of work, as suburban trains and buses are not plying since Tuesday with most of the city being under water. Outbound long-distance trains have been cancelled and incoming trains have been diverted, railway sources said. Air services out of Mumbai have started a short while ago in fits and bursts after initially being put on hold or cancelled till 11 a.m., airport runways were waterlogged. However, all international flights have been diverted to other destinations like Delhi In Mumbai and its outskirts, the worst affected areas included Bandra, Mahim, Santa Cruz, Byculla, Kurla, Thane and Badlapur. Stranded train commuters are facing great difficulty reaching their homes located in and around the city, some which are without electricity. There are reports that the flood waters have entered homes in many places. At least 100 people are feared trapped at Jui village in Maharashtra's Raigad District after huge boulders caused by landslides damaged over 20 houses. Rescue operations have been hampered as the village remains cut off from the rest of the state. Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has urged the public to stay home and not venture out for the next 48 hours. Deshmukh is scheduled to undertake an aerial survey of the flood-affected parts of the state today.

Maharashtra rains leave air passengers in Delhi stranded (Go To Top)

     New Delhi/ Mumbai: Heavy rains in Maharashtra have left Airlines passengers stranded at various airports across the country. Meanwhile, in New Delhi, hundreds of passengers remained stranded at the airport as civil airlines have announced the cancellation of all the flights to Mumbai. "Since 7 am we have been waiting here. We saw Praful Patel's statement saying there is no flight to Bombay till the evening. So they should confirm us before picking us up," said Ravi Sharma, a stranded passenger. Mahesh Lal, another passenger said: "It's difficult to get hotels also at the last minute because of cancellation so we are at a little bit of dilemma." Flights to and from Mumbai have been cancelled due to heavy water-logging on the runway and non-availability of landing aids there, for the second consecutive day today. Many international flights have been diverted to other destinations. Weather officials have said that the rains were due to a low- pressure area over the Bay of Bengal. "The heavy rains and winds are likely to continue for another 24 hours," they said. The heavy rains have left the life of country's financial capital out of gear as the city roads are full of water and traffic jams can be seen everywhere. Heavy monsoon rains have also disrupted rail traffic there.

Bombay Stock Exchange closed due to rain (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: No trading will take place in the country's financial capital Mumbai on Thursday as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) will be closed due to the heavy rains which have chalked the entire transport system across the state. In a statement today, the BSE said: "As advised by SEBI (Security Exchange Board of India), in view of the unscheduled consecutive Bank holidays (due to rains) and consequent difficulties in moving funds across banks for accumulated settlement, it has been decided to keep the trading at BSE and NSE closed on Thursday, July 28, 2005." Banks were closed today as the Maharashtra Government declared a public holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act. The holiday will continue tomorrow also in Mumbai and in the districts of Thane and Raigad, which are worst-affected. The Foreign Exchange (FOREX) market also could not function today due to the closure of the banks. Even as the BSE and NSE remained open today and the Sensex touched its all time high 7600 points, all the major commodity markets including bullion, oils, metals, sugar and grains did not operate today.

Aftershocks in Andamans shake residents' confidence (Go To Top)

     Port Blair: Series of earthquakes since Sunday ranging from 5.3 to 7.0 on richter scale have shaken the confidence of people in the remote island chain of Andaman and Nicobar. Although the tremors did not result in heavy casualties, but it has raised question marks on the safety of people living in the area. The powerful quake measuring 7.0 on richter scale came on Sunday, seven months after the December 26 earthquake which triggered killer tsunami. A tsunami warning was issued in Thailand following Sunday's tremors. Later the warning was withdrawn. Two more tremors with magnitudes of 5.3 and 5.7 shook the Andamans on Monday morning but caused no damage or injuries. Both aftershocks had their epicentre around the Nicobar island group in the south of archipelago that lies close to Indonesia, India's Meteorological Department said. Close to 350 aftershocks have rattled the region since the Dec. 26 quake, the strongest in 40 years. "After 26th December, people were taking the recurring quakes which were at 5-6 on Richter scale. But with 7 on Richter scale, people are really shaken and scared," said Jijit, a businessman. Many people have decided to shift to the mainland, but others on the island, which lie on an undersea fault line that runs to Indonesia in the south, said they were worried but still undecided what to do.

     Indian officials did not put out a tsunami alert on Sunday night after the earthquake -- whose epicenter was in the sea near the southern Nicobar region -- saying the tremor was not strong enough to cause a tsunami. Chief Secretary of the Andamans and Nicobar islands said that there was no need for panic as new houses constructed for rehabilitation of the displaced people were quake proof. "In the seismological parlance it's called category five, that means the structure can withstand nine plus on the Richter scale. There is no cause for panic and anxiety in some sorts of the dwelling units that we have constructed. But yes there will be some sort of panic," said D.S.Nagi, Chief Secretary of Andamans and Nicobar islands. About 3,500 people died in the Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Dec. 26 tsunami and some 2,000 remain missing. Sunday's earthquake was also felt in Chennai on the mainland as well as other parts of south India. The Naval meteorological office in Port Blair said it was the second biggest aftershock after the Dec. 26 earthquake.

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