Tuticorin fuel station blast kills 1

Tuticorin: Explosion in an empty petrol tank of a fuel station in Kovilpatti left one dead and another injured on Sunday. The incident took place in the fuel station located at Velayuthapuram around 12.30 pm. The deceased has been identified as K Raghu, 27, of Kadayam in Tenkasi district.

Due to contamination of petrol with water in the underground tank during the recent rain, the tank was closed for operations from January 16. Ragu and his co-workers Thiagarajan and Balasubramanian were engaged in emptying the tank and cleaning it over the last few days. Preliminary inquiries revealed that the tank was emptied and the workers were cleaning it on Sunday morning. They were assisted by T Justin, 35, who works in the fuel station. As it was humid inside the tank the workers tried to cool it using a fan. Raghu and Justin were near the entrance of the tank when the fan was turned on around 12.25 pm. There was a sudden explosion that threw Raghu and Justin a few feet away. Fire and rescue service personnel who rushed to the scene said that the ladder kept inside the tank was found on the top of a house about 100 metres away. tnn