Chala LPG tanker disaster

Last updated

Chala LPG road tanker BLEVE
India Kerala relief map.svg
Red pog.svg
Chala
Steel pog.svg
Thiruvananthapuram
Location of Chala in Kerala
Date27 August 2012 (2012-08-27)
VenueIndian National Highway 17 (now NH 66)
Location Chala, Kannur, Kannur district, Kerala, India
Type LPG road tanker boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion (BLEVE)
CauseCollision with road divider
Deaths20
Non-fatal injuries21

The Chala LPG tanker disaster was a road transport accident that occurred on August 27, 2012, on Indian National Highway 17 (now NH 66) at Chala in the Kannur District of India's Kerala State. The accident occurred when an Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) LPG road tanker hit a road lane divider, overturned and exploded, starting several building fires between 9:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. The accident killed 20 people. [1]

Contents

Background

LPG tanker operated by Indane (an IOCL subsidiary) with a 17 tonnes bullet-shaped tank 17 ton LPG Tank Truck.jpg
LPG tanker operated by Indane (an IOCL subsidiary) with a 17 tonnes bullet-shaped tank

Government-owned Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) is an integrated energy major with presence in all the streams of oil, gas and petrochemicals. Among its activities, IOCL transports liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) produced in its refineries to cylinder filling facilities through terrestrial pipelines, railway tank trains and road tankers. IOCL, through its subsidiary Indane, owned the cylinder bottling plant in Chelari, Kozhikode district, Kerala, which receives LPG by road tankers from the Mangalore LPG Import Facility (MLIF), also owned by IOCL and situated 264 km away in Karnataka.

LPG Bullet-shaped tanks mounted on trailer tankers normally have a capacity in excess of 17-tonnes in three compartments. [1]

National Highways in India are constructed and maintained by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the individual states' public works departments (in this case the Kerala Public Works Department).

Accident

Renovated lane division in 2021 Road Divider at Chala.jpg
Renovated lane division in 2021

On August 12, 2012 the LPG road tanker involved in the accident was loaded with 17.82 tonnes of LPG in Mangalore, Karnataka, from where it left at 8:18 a.m. [2] It was directed to the Indane (an IOCL subsidiary) LPG bottling plant in Chelari, Kozhikode district, Kerala. In this state LPG tankers are not allowed to travel in public roads between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., so the tanker had to stop and wait at the state border for several hours. Around 10:30 p.m., while crossing the town of Chala, between Kannur and Thalasseri, the driver tried to overtake a vehicle and, in so doing, hit a concrete road divider near the Bhagavati temple bus stop. [3]

The lane division was installed to segregate traffic in opposite directions. The concrete divider started at the temple bus stop –where the slope from the adjacent hill levelled off– and extended 200 metres up to the next junction. The divider was constructed by fixing 50 cm-high concrete blocks along the centre line. The blocks, originally painted in white and black stripes, were blackened with vehicle exhausts. [4] There was no sign warning of the obstruction at the beginning of the division. Several traffic accidents had been reported at this spot in the year prior to the accident, with one of them involving an empty LPG tanker collision with the divider and occurring just one week before the disaster. [2] There were a few one- and two-storied commercial buildings on the north side of the highway and several houses on both sides. The nearest house was within 15 m of the highway. [3]

Upon contact, the tractor unit detached from the tank trailer. The valve manifold of the tank broke and LPG started leaking. [2] [5] Where the accident occurred, the terrain slopes down by 1 to 3 metres below the road level on both sides of the highway. The leaked liquid LPG and its heavy vapors descended there and flowed for 170 metres through an irrigation water canal running north to south and crossing the highway roughly at the spot where the accident occurred.

The driver was able to exit the cabin and alert nearby residences before the fire started. Residents called the Kerala State Electricity Board, which immediately isolated the power supply grid. Most of the persons living around the accident spot evacuated their homes, moved away for some distance and stood on the street along the water canal. [1] [5]

Ignition, whose origin is unclear, occurred around 20 minutes after the collision [5] and resulted in a flash fire of the gas spread around the overturned tanker, in the water canal and in the low-lying area on the south. The gas settled in the canal is said to have burnt for 1 to 2 minutes. Persons who had evacuated their houses but stood on the streets on the south and north side of the highway suffered burn injuries. Once the flash fire subsided, a jet fire remained at the leaking area of the overturned bullet tank. During search and rescue attempts were made in fire-impacted houses. [3]

Ten minutes after the onset of the fire, the LPG bullet tank, heated and weakened by the jet fire, ruptured and a severe boiling-liquid expanding-vapor explosion (BLEVE) ensued. A huge fireball formed and half of the burning tank rocketed upwards, flew over the coconut groves and fell about 400 metres away. [5] The fireball diameter is estimated to have been around 150 metres and its duration in the order of 9–11 seconds. [3]

Damage and casualties

Fire engines of Kerala Fire and Rescue Services services approached the accident, with some of them arriving before the BLEVE onset. Five fire engines from Kannur (7 km away) and Thalassery (15 km away) fire stations attended the incident.[ citation needed ]

Victims, who were those who evacuated their homes but were standing along the highway and the canal, suffered burns from the first flash fire and the BLEVE. There was no injury due to consequent building fires. Twenty people died due to burn injuries in various hospitals in a period between 24 hours to 30 days from the time of the incident. Another 21 received treatment for burns. [1] The fire damaged 20 houses and 23 shops, [6] although reports on this subject differ. [1] [3] Seven houses suffered severe fire and explosion damage necessitating demolition. Eleven vehicles were gutted in the fire. [7]

Aftermath

The tanker driver was arrested by the police at a later date. [2]

The tragedy caused local uproar and protest against government officials who visited the accident site. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, his ministerial colleagues and the leader of the opposition V.S. Achuthanandan visited the accident spot, the hospitalized victims and the houses of those who died. Achuthanandan demanded that a murder case be filed against IOCL. [6] [7]

During his visit Chandy ordered removal of the road divider involved. This action was later criticized as destruction of evidence.[ citation needed ]

Several voluntary social organizations worked in the following months in the area to help with restoration of the houses and the rehabilitation of traumatized families.[ citation needed ]

Protests and blockade of LPG tankers occurred in several parts of the district for a few months. People demanded that LPG transport on roads in the state be stopped and manhandled tanker drivers. In response, the Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Owners’ Association called a strike in September 2012. [8]

IOCL paid a compensation of ₹1.3 million (ca. US$25,000) for each deceased. [9]

Investigation

Inquiries conducted by the District Collector and State Government are accessible to the public.[ citation needed ]

Twenty-two people gave statements in a magisterial inquiry conducted by Kannur District Collector Rathan Kelkar. The owner of a shop near the accident site stated that there was no reflector on the road divider and that the divider was not visible at night due to poor lighting. However, in the same inquiry a Kerala Public Works Department (PWD) official stated that the divider blocks were painted in black and white reflector stripes and a warning sign was present. [4]

The Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD), under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, published a short report in 2013, which states that the driver's license to carry dangerous goods was expired and the tanker was travelling without a back-up driver, although one was present at the start of the journey. The report concludes that the root causes of the accident were: Issues associated with the stretch of road where the crash occurred, including the lack of traffic signs and in particular of one warning of the obstruction caused by the divider; driver fatigue; and absence of a back-up driver. It further recommended that authorities should ensure strict enforcement of the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act Motor Vehicles requiring the use of back-up drivers for certain type of journeys and services. It also recommended design improvements to LPG road tankers, including mechanical protection of the valve manifold, and fitting of an excess flow check valve inside the tank, to make it so that external damage on the valve manifold would not result in catastrophic loss of containment. [2]

IOCL announced that their LPG tankers would indeed be fitted with an excess flow check valve inside the tank and also committed to enforce the requirement for two drivers manning their LPG road tankers. [9]

The OISD findings are consistent with declarations released by the authorities and on public media. In press conferences after the accident, Chief Minister Chandy stated that improper design of the concrete lane divider was a significant cause of the disaster. Asianet News reported the fatigue of the lone driver and absence of illumination as potential causes. [10] M. Ponnambalam, president of the Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Owners’ Association (SRBLPGTOA) said that the accident happened due to poor road conditions and that "driving through Kannur’s bad roads is a nightmare." [8]

Later LPG tanker overturning

May 2021 accident May 6, 2021 LPG road tanker accident (cropped).jpg
May 2021 accident

In the afternoon of May 6, 2021, an LPG road tanker operated by IOCL overturned 200 metres away from the site of the 2012 accident. [11] The tanker capsized whilst maneuvering at a 90-degree turn. [12] This time the leak was small, in the vapor phase, and did not ignite. Residences were evacuated in a 500 metre radius, and the highway was closed for 12 hours until a IOCL emergency recovery tanker removed the inventory from the overturned vehicle.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liquefied petroleum gas</span> Fuel for heating, cooking and vehicles

Liquefied petroleum gas, also referred to as liquid petroleum gas, is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, n-butane and isobutane. It can sometimes contain some propylene, butylene, and isobutene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion</span> Explosion of a vessel containing liquid above and beyond boiling point

A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion is an explosion caused by the rupture of a vessel containing a pressurized liquid that is or has reached a temperature sufficiently higher than its boiling point at atmospheric pressure. Because the boiling point of a liquid rises with pressure, the contents of the pressurized vessel can remain a liquid as long as the vessel is intact. If the vessel's integrity is compromised, the loss of pressure drops the boiling point, which can cause the liquid to convert to gas expanding rapidly. BLEVEs are manifestations of explosive boiling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weyauwega, Wisconsin, derailment</span> 1996 train accident in Wisconsin, U.S.

The Weyauwega derailment was a railroad accident that occurred in Weyauwega, Wisconsin, United States, in the early morning hours of March 4, 1996. The derailed train was carrying a large quantity of hazardous material, which immediately caught fire. The fire, which involved the train cars and an adjacent feed mill, burned for more than two weeks after the actual derailment, resulting in the emergency evacuation of 2,300 people for 18 days, including the entire city of Weyauwega, with about 1,700 evacuees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gas explosion</span> Explosion caused by mixing a combustible gas with air in the presence of an ignition source

A gas explosion is the ignition of a mixture of air and flammable gas, typically from a gas leak. In household accidents, the principal explosive gases are those used for heating or cooking purposes such as natural gas, methane, propane, butane. In industrial explosions many other gases, like hydrogen, as well as evaporated (gaseous) gasoline or ethanol play an important role. Industrial gas explosions can be prevented with the use of intrinsic safety barriers to prevent ignition, or use of alternative energy.

The Waverly, Tennessee tank car explosion killed 16 people and injured 43 others on February 24, 1978, in Waverly, Tennessee. Following a train derailment a two days earlier, a cleanup crew had been sent into the area. At approximately 2:58 in the afternoon, a tank car containing 30,161 US gallons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exploded after an action taken during the cleanup related to the derailment.

The Los Alfaques disaster was caused by the explosion of a road tanker near a holiday campsite on 11 July 1978 in Alcanar, Spain. The exploding truck, which was carrying 23 tons of highly flammable liquefied propylene, killed 215 people and severely burned 200 more. Several individuals from the company that owned the vehicle were prosecuted for criminal negligence. The disaster resulted in new legislation in Spain, restricting the transit of vehicles carrying dangerous cargo through populated areas to night time only.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juanico disaster</span> 1984 industrial accident near Mexico City, Mexico

The San Juanico disaster involved a series of fires and explosions at a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank farm in the settlement of San Juan Ixhuatepec, a municipality of Tlalnepantla de Baz, State of Mexico, Mexico, on 19 November 1984. The facility and the settlement, part of Greater Mexico City, were devastated, with 500–600 victims killed, and 5000–7000 suffering severe burns. It is one of the deadliest industrial disasters in world history, and the deadliest industrial accident involving fires and/or explosions from hazardous materials in a process or storage plant since the Oppau explosion in 1921.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrogen safety</span> Procedures for safe production, handling and use of hydrogen

Hydrogen safety covers the safe production, handling and use of hydrogen, particularly hydrogen gas fuel and liquid hydrogen. Hydrogen possesses the NFPA 704's highest rating of four on the flammability scale because it is flammable when mixed even in small amounts with ordinary air. Ignition can occur at a volumetric ratio of hydrogen to air as low as 4% due to the oxygen in the air and the simplicity and chemical properties of the reaction. However, hydrogen has no rating for innate hazard for reactivity or toxicity. The storage and use of hydrogen poses unique challenges due to its ease of leaking as a gaseous fuel, low-energy ignition, wide range of combustible fuel-air mixtures, buoyancy, and its ability to embrittle metals that must be accounted for to ensure safe operation.

The Feyzin disaster occurred in a refinery near the town of Feyzin, 10 kilometres south of Lyon, France, on 4 January 1966. An LPG spill occurred when an operator was draining water from a 1,200m³ pressurised propane tank. The resultant cloud of propane vapour spread, until it was ignited by a car on an adjoining road. The pool of propane in the bund caused the storage tank to be engulfed in flames, which produced a Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion (BLEVE) when the tank ruptured. This resulted in a fireball which killed and injured firemen and spectators. Flying missiles broke the legs of an adjacent sphere which later BLEVE'd. Three further spheres toppled due to the collapse of support legs which were not adequately fire protected. These vessels ruptured but did not explode. A number of petrol and crude oil tanks also caught fire. The conflagration took 48 hours to bring under control. This incident resulted in the deaths of 18 people, the injury of 81 and extensive damage to the site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gas carrier</span> Ship designed to transport liquefied chemical gases in bulk

A gas carrier, gas tanker, LPG carrier, or LPG tanker is a ship designed to transport LPG, LNG, CNG, or liquefied chemical gases in bulk.

The Kingman explosion, also known as the Doxol disaster or Kingman BLEVE, was a catastrophic boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) that occurred on July 5, 1973, in Kingman, Arizona, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indane (LPG)</span> Household name in India

Indane is a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation which is under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of the government of India. It is the world's second largest government-owned subsidiary responsible for manufacturing LPG. The brand was conceived in 1964 to bring modern cooking to Indian kitchens. The first Indane LPG connection was released on 22 October 1965 at Kolkata. Indane serves more than 130 million families through a network of 12,500 distributors. 27% of its customers reside in semi-urban or rural markets and every second LPG cooking gas connection in India is that of Indane. The sales network is backed by 47 Indane area offices. The brand has been awarded the title of "Superbrand" by Superbrand India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memphis tanker truck disaster</span> 1988 explosion and fire in Memphis, Tennessee, United States

On December 23, 1988, a tractor-trailer tanker truck hauling liquefied propane crashed on an exit ramp at the Interstate 40/Interstate 240 (I-40/I-240) interchange in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, US. The crash ruptured the tank; the leaking gas exploded, setting multiple vehicles and structures on fire. The explosion propelled the tank 125 yards (114 m) into a residential complex and started additional fires. The accident caused nine deaths and ten injuries. The interchange where the accident occurred was considered unsafe and poorly designed, and had been the site of several previous accidents; it was completely rebuilt in the 2000s.

The Boksburg explosion took place on 24 December 2022, when a fuel tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exploded underneath a railway bridge in Boksburg, in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, with a death toll of 41 people as of 18 January 2023. Nearby infrastructure was damaged by the explosion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Borgo Panigale explosion</span> Road accident in Italy

On 6 August 2018, the collision of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) road tanker with an articulated lorry carrying flammable solvents and a car transporter resulted in a huge explosion on the A14 motorway within Borgo Panigale, a neighbourhood of Bologna, Italy. It was a case of boiling-liquid expanding-vapour explosion (BLEVE), where nearly all the road tanker cargo combusted in a matter of seconds upon release, generating a tremendous amount of thermal radiation. The accident killed two people, injured 145 and caused significant damage to the surrounding commercial and residential area. One span of the viaduct where it happened collapsed and a gash opened in the motorway.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Kumar, Pramod (2013). "Fire Disaster Following LPG Tanker Explosion at Chala in Kannur (Kerala, India): August 27, 2012". Burns . 39 (7): 1479–1487. doi:10.1016/j.burns.2013.04.004. PMID   23639222.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Roy, U.S.; Agrawal, Rakesh. "LPG Tank Truck Road Accident and Subsequent BLEVE". Oil Industry Safety Directorate . Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Bariha, Nilambar; Mishra, Indra Mani; Srivastava, Vimal Chandra (25 January 2016). "Fire and Explosion Hazard Analysis Furing Surface Transport of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG): A Case Study of LPG Truck Tanker Accident in Kannur, Kerala, India". Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries . 40: 449‒460. doi:10.1016/j.jlp.2016.01.020.
  4. 1 2 Times News Network (29 September 2012). "Locals Blame Divider for Chala Mishap". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Bariha, Nilambar; Mishra, Indra Mani; Srivastava, Vimal Chandra (2014). "Analysis of Fire and Explosion Hazards During Surface Transport of Liquefied Petroleum Gas" (PDF). Institution of Chemical Engineers . Symposium Series No. 159: Hazards 24. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Tanker Tragedy at Chala: Death Toll Rises to 7" . The Hindu . 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  7. 1 2 "LPG Tanker Explosion Toll Touches 18 in Kerela". Zee News . 2 September 2012. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  8. 1 2 Simhan, T.E. Raja (20 September 2012). "LPG Tanker Operators Threaten to Stop Services in South" . The Hindu . Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  9. 1 2 "LPG Tanker Blast Still Haunts Chala Survivors". The Times of India . 27 August 2013. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  10. Asianet News (23 August 2013). Chala LPG Tanker Accident (Television production) (in Malayalam). Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  11. Rajeev, K.R. (6 May 2021). "Kerala: Gas Leak Creates Panic After LPG Tanker Lorry Overturns in Kannur". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  12. "Speeding, Poor Judgment Capsized LPG Tanker at Chala, Reveal CCTV Visuals". Onmanorama . 5 October 2021. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.

11°50′53″N75°25′44″E / 11.848°N 75.429°E / 11.848; 75.429