Two more bodies spotted at IOC site, fire still rages

Jaipur, Nov 1: Two more bodies were spotted at the burning Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) fuel depot in Jaipur today, pushing the toll to ten.

'The unidentified charred bodies were noticed in the wee hours of the day near one of the blazing tanks, but was not possible to reach there because of the heat,' said Inspector General of Police, B.L.Soni.

'The fire spread to the roof of the building of a private electronic and instrument company 'Genus Overseas Ltd', 200 meters from the IOC complex wall at about 0700 hours', said Chief Fire Officer, Ishwar Lal Jat.

'Firemen present there could extinguish the flames within two hours,' added Jat.

So far, nearly five lakh residents in the radius of five-kilometer area around the fire spot have been moved to safer locations after it was declared 'danger zone'.

Among those who were evacuated were all the patients, doctors and staff of a government hospital and engineering and medical students of 10 hostels.

According to IOC sources, a total loss of 300 crores has been estimated.

The IOC also said that it would take al least 15-18 months to rebuild the facility in Jaipur.

Earlier Petroleum Minister, Murli Deora had ordered a probe to ascertain the cause of fire.

--ANI