Tinsukia (Assam): Oil majors IOC (Indian Oil Corporation) and OIL (Oil India Limited) came under attack of suspected ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam) insurgents who triggered two nearly simultaneous explosions in an IOC storage depot and OIL gas pipeline in the wee hours of March 8 in Upper Assam.

Deputy Commissioner, Tinsukia, B N Das said the insurgents may have used rocket launchers or mortars to trigger the two blasts.

The explosion in IOC's Assam Oil Division (AOD) oil reserve depot tank near Digboi refinery in Tinsukia district engulfed a 5000 KL petrol tank located in the outskirts of the town setting it on fire.

The other blast occurred at an Oil India Ltd pipeline carrying gas from OIL Duliajan to NEEPCO power grid at nearby Kathalguri partially damaging the pipeline.

Both the explosions occurred around the same time Das said.

ULFA had about five years ago set ablaze IOC's oil storage depot tanks at Thekeraguri in Nagaon district by launching rocket-propelled grenades.

Das said people near the Digboi refinery were awakened from their sleep by the sound of two explosions in the early hours. Two holes were later noticed on the tank.

Seventy fire tenders of the AOD, police, Army and from nearby districts were battling the towering flames, which had leaped to 70 feet high, he said adding that the blaze had now been reduced to 30 feet.

Das said the firemen would have to wait ''till the oil burns down to douse the flames''.

Precautionary measures were being taken to prevent the fire from spreading to the adjacent six other tanks filled with finished petroleum products.

''Water was being continuously sprayed on these tanks to keep the temperature under control,'' Das said.

Panic-stricken people in the area had been evacuated and the site cordoned off.

Engineers had rushed to both the sites and efforts were on to douse the flame in the tank and repair both the storage depot and the gas line, he said.

Meanwhile, the operations in Digboi refinery had been temporarily suspended though work in the other three oil refineries in the state remained unaffected, IOC sources said.

PTI