Two firefighters die in gas well blowout blaze in Assam

PSU major Oil India on Wednesday said two of its firefighters died at the site of a major blaze at its Baghjan well, which has been spewing gas uncontrollably for the last 15 days in Assam's Tinsukia district.

The two firefighters had gone missing after the well caught fire on Tuesday and their bodies were recovered by an NDRF team this morning, Oil India Spokesperson Tridiv Hazarika told PTI.

"Their bodies were recovered from a wetland near the site. Prima facie it looks that they jumped into the water and got drowned as there is no mark of burn injury. The exact cause will be ascertained only after a post mortem," he said.

The duo has been identified as Durlov Gogoi and Tikeswar Gohain, both assistant operators of the fire service department of the company, the official said.

A firefighter of the state-owned ONGC suffered minor injuries during efforts to control the blaze, which Oil India said could take as long as four weeks to be put out.