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ONGC fire continues to rage, US team reaches site

Gas continued to flare up from the offshore gas well of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's Bombay High site for the fourth day today even as two American experts in sub-sea well control operations reached the site and began supervision to control the fire at the oil platform.

ONGC spokesperson Mohan Reddy said that two experts from Houston-based Cudd Pressure Inc Limited, Mark Mazella and Steven Burrow have reached the rig to control the fire which have been raging at the country's premier oil company since Friday.

Unmanned oil platform B-121-D, situated some 160 km away off the north-west of Bombay Harbour in the Arabian Sea was affected by the massive fire which is still not controlled in spite of hectic efforts by ONGC and the Coast Guard. Four other wells of the unmanned oil platform B-121 -- A, B, C and F -- have been put off, hitting the oil production in the region.

ONGC experts along with the US-based experts are drawing up a plan for fire control operations in the site, where a thick black billow of smoke was seen. Choppers of ONGC as well as the Coast Guard continued to survey the site along with Dornier aircraft.

The Coast Guard has rushed two vessels VGS Sangram and CGS Kamla Devi and also three back-up offshore support vessels -- CGS Samudra Sevak, Stena I and Stena II which are spraying water at the site.

UNI

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