Butcher Island fire: 10 million litres of diesel lost in blaze, residents report black rain over Navi Mumbai

More than 10 million litres of diesel went up in smoke in the Butcher Island fire, according to media reports. The high speed diesel fuelled the nearly four-day fire which took hold Butcher Island near Mumbai, resulting in losses of at least Rs 60-70 crore, reported The Times of India. The fire has also had a massive environmental impact as residents of Uran (a part of Navi Mumbai) claimed that they were witnessing “black rain”, according to a report in Mumbai Mirror. While the officials have claimed that the blaze is under control, the residents allege that the pollution has affected the marine life in the region. The Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas has already started an investigation in the fire. [caption id=“attachment_4127605” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Over 10 million litres of diesel was lost in the Butcher Island fire. PTI[/caption] The fire broke out on Friday evening at a high speed diesel tank off the Mumbai coast following a lightning strike. A 50-member team of firemen battled the blaze. The firefighters initially succeeded in bringing the blaze under control, but “excessive heat” had led it to reignite around 4.30 am on Saturday. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has eight tanks at the farm located on the Butcher Island, also called Jawahar Dweep. Vessels bring crude and other commodities and offload the same at the Jawahar Dweep anchorage, which are stored in tanks and then ferried to the nearby refineries through underwater pipelines. Sanjay Bhatia, the chairperson of the Mumbai Port Trust, s aid the blaze was contained to one tank farm owned by the BPCL. According to official sources, the affected tank’s capacity is around 40,000 tonnes, which was partly filled with high speed diesel. Nearly 25 percent has been lost to the flames. BPCL executive director Manohar Rao clarified that there would not be any shortage of HSD (high-speed diesel) in the market due to the fire incident. High speed diesel is normally used as a fuel in medium and high speed compression ignition engines in commercial vehicles, stationary diesel engines, locomotives and pumps. A BPCL spokesperson had said on Friday that a lightning strike amid thundershowers was the apparent cause of the fire. “A diesel tank caught fire due to the lightning and thundershowers,” he had said. Manohar Rao, executive director and head of safety, BPCL, had said that prima facie, the cause of the fire was lightning, though further probe will be carried out on Saturday. With inputs from agencies