A major fire erupted at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) Visakhapatnam refinery plant on Tuesday afternoon, but no casualties have been reported.

Huge flames and smoke were seen rising from the HPCL refinery plant. District fire tenders rushed to the spot. The cause of the incident is yet to be discovered.

The company told the media that the fire exploded in the HPCL’s Vizag refinery crude distillation unit's old terminal. An emergency alarm immediately came abuzz, alerting the staff around. After which the employees and workers hurried out of the unit. Safety measures and firefighting were activated instantly. There has been no misfortune and no hazard to the public. Other refinery operations are normal.

DCP Aishwarya Rastogi said that a blast was reported at the unit-3 plant in HPCL's Visakh Refinery. The reason for the incident is yet to be discovered. Teams from HPCL apart, employees from the Eastern Naval Command, and the AP State Disaster Response and Fire Services department turned into action and put out the fire in a fast operation.

HPCL operates an 8.3 million tonnes-a-year oil refinery at Visakhapatnam. The unit converts crude oil into value-added fuels like petrol and diesel.

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