Early Tuesday morning, a catastrophic fire broke out at a naphtha pipeline near the Haldia Petrochemicals plant as people woke up to thick black smoke rising from a blast and a wall of fire on the horizon. At least 20 people were injured in the explosion, a number of houses were destroyed and services were disrupted in some regional railway stations in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur area of Ward No. 13 in the densely populated Chiranjibpur area of Ward No. 13, Haldia Municipality.
Casualties and Emergency Response
At least 20 people were injured and 20 of them suffered burn injuries, a senior district police official said. Emergency teams rushed to the scene and rushed victims to the Haldia Sub-Divisional Hospital. As the situation deteriorated, those who were badly injured were sent to Tamluk Medical College and Hospital. The local administration said six injured are now in critical condition and are being transferred to a special hospital in Kolkata for treatment. A total of 12 fire engines were deployed to the site. Firefighters spent hours on the ground to isolate the pipeline burst and keep the highly volatile chemical fire from igniting in front of other industrial blocks.
A major fire broke out after a naphtha pipeline at Haldia Petrochemicals reportedly ruptured early Tuesday morning, leaving around 35 people injured, five of them critically.
— Prem Sen (@senprem2001) June 30, 2026
The incident occurred around 4:30 am. Authorities suspect lightning may have triggered the pipeline… pic.twitter.com/Ggbeu9WuoV
Local Impact and Structural Damage
The pipeline runs close to the local communities and the heat and flying embers quickly spread to neighboring residential areas of the town. Many houses were completely burned into ash before the outer perimeter of the pipeline was secured. The pipeline’s proximity to critical infrastructure was also a major blow to regional transit. OHE lines close to the site were destroyed, and overhead railway equipment (OHE) lines were heavily damaged. Hence, trains on the key Haldia-Panskura and Haldia-Howrah lines were completely suspended on Tuesday morning. Hundreds of early morning daily commuters and commercial freight trains from the city of Haldia-Panskura and Haldia-Howrah were stranded on Tuesday morning as trains were cancelled for hours.
Suspected Naphtha Theft Point Under Investigation
Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (HPL) issued a statement about the industrial accident, calling for a complete investigation of the industrial accident. “Based on initial information, it appears that the accident may have taken place near an unauthorized naphtha theft point in the vicinity of the plant,” it said in a statement late Monday. Naphtha is a combustible and volatile hydrocarbon and it went on to warn local communities against unauthorized handling or tampering with petroleum infrastructure because it poses catastrophic risks to petroleum infrastructure. The company said it is already in discussions with the state and safety regulatory bodies to investigate the true cause of the breach of the accident and how to prevent the company from going through it. As soon as fire officials determine what is most likely the main impact zone, restoration work will proceed on train tracks as soon as fire agencies are working on the core of the impact zone.
