
A special committee for investigations and reports of fire, which consumed a part of the 200 kv underground cable from the brahmapurama substation of the State Electrical Council of Kerala (KSEB) and walked through a hidden trench on the Bharat Petroleum-Limited-Kochi Rafinery (BPCL-KR) Campus.
The Committee was asked to present a message within three days. The Committee led by K. Manoj, a representative of the collector (disaster management), includes the BPCL-KR security officer, an electric inspector and KSEB officials.
The decision was taken at a meeting called the District Collector of NSK UMESH as a result of Tuesday’s incident, which left several people in Ayyankuzhi, the immediate district of the BPCL-KR campus, dizziness and nausea, while some were hospitalized. All 23 families have been evacuated since then and provided temporary accommodation in Chottanikkara.
A separate committee for studying and submitting a report on whether the neighborhood of the company was suitable for housing was created. The Committee including the Council for Control Council, Gram Panchayat Health Inspector, a village officer and company representatives, was asked to submit his report within two days of visiting households.
A representative of the collector (disaster administration), risk analyst and the coordinator of the Plan of the Company’s Disaster Plan was asked to review the Action Plan of the Company’s Disasters and recommended changes within one week.
The collector stated that a high -level meeting would first be convened to look at the requirement of the population to obtain their land.
Electric arc
The electric arch that was created to triple the feeder turned into a full -fledged fire, probably triggered the fire. The electric arc is a high -temperature light discharge made of rupture in the wire. Rarely, the electrical arch is converted into fire. One of the causes of which is viewed is the probability of the presence of some flammable gas in the hidden underground chamber, which transformed the arch into a fire.
Restoring the cable may take time as the cable joints and the correction kit need to be imported. The accidents were affected by all three feeders and the incident affected the stability of the KSEB system.
BPCL-KR command
In the BPCL-KR statement issued here, she said that power fluctuations led to a 220 kV feeder, resulting in fire and smoke in a cable ditch. After detecting a team of reaction to emergency situations in coordination with the KSEB, he responded rapidly to the incident. The situation was under control using foam and water. As a preventive measure, sand was filled in a cable ditch. Employees in the affected areas were evacuated and the safety masks were worn as preventive measures. The local administration was informed and the neighborhood was ensured that there was no reason to panic, the statement said.
Published – 10 July 2025 12:06