The Jaipur oil fire was a disastrous event. The blaze continued to rage out of control for over a week after it started and during the period half a million people were evacuated from the area. The fire did not become a major event until the oil began to stick to the sealift there.
The incident occurred when petrol was being transferred from the Indian Oil Corporation's oil depot to a pipeline. There were at least 40 IOC employees at the terminal, situated close to the Jaipur International Airport when it caught fire with an explosion.
Jaipur fuel storage and distribution terminal of the Indian Oil Corporation at Sitatpur in Jaipur can hold 100,000 kilolitres of petrol, diesel and kerosene in about 11 storage tanks.
The following products were stored in eleven tanks inside the terminal:
• Petrol (18,810 kl)
• Kerosene (2,099 kl)
• High Speed Diesel (39,966 kl)
• Interface (2,809 kl)
All 11 tanks caught fire. Almost 60,000 kilolitres of oil in 11 storage tanks went up in flames on the evening of Oct 29 and the blaze raged till Nov 6.
The fire was a major disaster in terms of deaths, injury, loss of business, property and man-days, displacement of people, environmental impact in Jaipur, the capital city of the Indian state of Rajasthan and a popular tourist destination. As per eyewitnesses having factories and hotels around Indian Oil’s Sitapura