Jaipur, October 29: A Massive fire erupted at an oil depot in northern India overnight, killing at least two people and injuring scores more, officials and emergency workers said.
The blaze at the Indian Oil depot on the outskirts of Jaipur in the desert state of Rajasthan broke out about 7.30pm (1am AEDT, Friday) and swiftly spread out of control.
Emergency service officials said at least two people had been killed, while Jaipur’s chief civil administrator, Kiran Soni Gupta, said more than 50 had been rushed to hospital, some with severe burns.
“We have called on the army for help,” Ms Gupta said.
Local residents were evacuated and electricity to the entire city of Jaipur was cut off as precautionary measure, she said.
Three hours after it began, the fire was still burning out of control and had engulfed most of the depot, covering an area of several square kilometres. The blaze was visible from up to 20 kilometres away.
The exact cause of the blaze was not immediately clear, although television channels quoted local residents who said they heard an initial explosion.
State anti-terror police chief Kapil Garg said there was no immediate indication that the fire was the result of any attack.
—Agencies