A fire broke out at the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) facility in Visakhapatnam on Monday night, police said, and there were no casualties. Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi said, "A fire broke out in Vizag HPCL facility and there were no casualties," The Hindu BusinessLine reported.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

The blaze erupted at a sulphur pitch tank inside the refinery, and firefighters were deployed to contain it as towering flames and thick black smoke rose over the plant, the Daily Jagran reported. Speaking to NDTV, Commissioner Bagchi said the fire was confined to the affected tank and posed no threat to the refinery's other operational units, and authorities said the smoke was non-hazardous and no casualties or injuries had been reported.

Source: Daily Jagran

Brought under control in about an hour

The fire broke out at around 9.45 pm and was brought under control within an hour, with six fire tenders pressed into service, E. Narasimha, Station House Officer of Malkapuram police station, told The Indian Express. The SHO said there was a blast in the tank, according to that report; the exact cause of the fire, however, is yet to be confirmed by the oil marketing company, BusinessLine reported, and HPCL authorities were unreachable in the initial reporting.

Source: The Indian Express via News89

Photographs from the plant showed firefighters deploying high-pressure water monitors against the blaze at the refinery's Residue Upgradation Facility (RUF). Visuals of a towering column of fire and thick smoke lighting up the night sky over the port city circulated widely on social media on Monday night.

~9:45 pmTime the fire broke out on Monday, Malkapuram police said
About 1 hourTime taken to bring the blaze under control
6Fire tenders pressed into service
0Deaths or injuries reported

Cause yet to be confirmed

Reports from residents spoke of explosion-like sounds before the fire, and the reports of a blast were being examined, but neither the police nor HPCL had confirmed the cause on Monday night. The extent of damage at the unit is yet to be assessed.

The fire came on the same night that severe cyclonic storm Murasu was approaching the Andhra Pradesh coast, with landfall expected between Nellore and Narsapur in the hours after midnight, according to the India Meteorological Department. No official has linked the refinery fire to the cyclone.