INDIA – Lightning Sparks Fire at Methanol Tank in Vizag

A lightning strike on Sunday afternoon ignited a methanol storage tank at East India Petroleum Private Limited in Vizag’s Scindia area, causing panic in the locality.

According to residents, the strike occurred around 2:30 p.m. amid rainfall. Flames quickly spread from the 7,500 KL capacity methanol tank, but timely intervention prevented a larger disaster.

Seven fire and foam tenders, supported by more than 50 personnel, rushed to the scene. Four vehicles from the fire service department, along with three from VPA, HPCL, and Andhra Petrochemicals, joined efforts to contain the blaze. Officials confirmed that rainfall at the time also helped reduce the intensity of the fire.

Regional Fire Officer D. Niranjan Reddy said the flames were brought under control within an hour, preventing them from reaching four nearby diesel storage tanks. No casualties or injuries were reported, though an estimated 1,000 liters of methanol were destroyed.

As a precaution, technical teams assisted fire personnel in transferring the remaining methanol to another tank to avoid further risk.

This incident comes six years after a similar case in Vizag, when lightning struck a crude oil tank at HPCL in July 2017. That fire was also contained within an hour.

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