Fire at oil mill in Thane under control

MUMBAI - A fire that erupted Tuesday in an oil mill in the adjoining district of Thane was brought under control after 12 hours, police said. No casualties have been reported in the incident.

The fire broke out around 5.30 a.m. at the edible oil manufacturing major, Liberty Oil Mills sprawling compound in Bamne village, some 90 km from Mumbai in Shahapur Taluka of Thane district.

“Although we have managed to bring the raging fire under control, the fire-fighting operations are still on inside the factory building,” police inspector Shivnath Shinde of Shahapur police station told IANS.

Shinde could not give an estimate on how long it would take to completely douse the flames or assess the damage on account of the fire.

As many as 20 fire engines along with 20 water tankers continued to be in action at the site.

Apart from the three fire engines from Kalyan, three fire engines from Nashik and one from Igatpuri joined others summoned from as far away as Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

At least 20 water tankers made more than 100 trips to the nearby river to fill water to douse the fire, said Shinde.

The blaze initially erupted in a warehouse where huge stocks of oil, fatty products and ghee were stored.

It spread quickly and black smoke billowed out from a three-storeyed building, several warehouses and other places in the complex, and was visible for several kilometers in the area.

The local police kept the population from eight villages in the vicinity of the mill on high alert and preparations were made to evacuate them to safe zones if required.

The cause of the fire is not yet known and so far no casualties have been reported in the incident.

The company produces several well known brands of edible oils and others foods under various brand names like ‘Anchor,’ ‘Amber,’ ‘Chanda’ and ‘Sunday’.