• OIL suspends four personnel over alleged dereliction of official duties.
• Death toll rises to three after Rupam Gohain dies during treatment in Guwahati.
• Company announces Rs 10 lakh compensation for each deceased worker’s family.
• Sarbananda Sonowal visits injured workers and calls for a high-level inquiry.

GG News Bureau
Dibrugarh, 9th Nov: Oil India Limited (OIL) has suspended four personnel, including three officers and one employee, following the Tengakhat explosion and fire at its Intermediate Tank Farm (ITF) in Assam’s Dibrugarh district. The action comes after the death toll rose to three, with another critically injured worker succumbing to burn injuries on Saturday.

OIL spokesperson Prankush Malla Buzarbaruah confirmed that the four personnel had been suspended for alleged “dereliction in discharging official duties” in connection with the incident.

The latest fatality was identified as Rupam Gohain, a resident of Tengakhat, who died while undergoing treatment at Nemcare Hospital in Guwahati. He was initially admitted to Oil India Hospital in Duliajan following the explosion on November 6. However, considering the severity of his injuries, he was later shifted to Guwahati for advanced medical care.

Despite medical efforts, Gohain succumbed to his injuries. Earlier, two people had died in the explosion and fire. One of them was engineer Tapas Jyoti Gogoi, employed by Spectron Engineering Pvt. Ltd., who died of burn injuries at a private hospital in Dibrugarh.

Following the incident, Oil India Limited announced financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of those who died and Rs 5 lakh each for the injured.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal visited injured workers undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Dibrugarh on Saturday and enquired about their condition.

Earlier, Sonowal spoke over the telephone with OIL Chairman and Managing Director to review the situation at the Tengakhat facility. He urged the company to ensure the best possible medical treatment for the injured and take all necessary measures without delay.

The Union Minister also called for appropriate compensation for the families of those who lost their lives and sought a high-level inquiry by the concerned authorities to establish the exact cause of the explosion and fire.

The suspension of four personnel marks an initial disciplinary response by the company, while the circumstances leading to the fatal incident remain subject to investigation.