Army Constructs Composite Bridge at Assam’s Baghjan Blowout Site

Well no. 5 at the Baghjan Oil field leaked gas for 14 days before catching fire on 9 June. The fire rages on.

The Indian Army completed the construction of a composite bridge at well number 5 of the Baghjan Oil Field in Assam on Monday, 22 June.

The well number 5 of Baghjan Oil Field in Assam's Tinsukia district suffered damage because of a blowout and finally caught fire on 9 June after leaking gas for fourteen days straight.

“The construction of this bridge was extremely critical for the task of controlling the fire, as it provides the only access to the experts to approach the well. The experts now plan to lay a heavy duty pipeline over the bridge and create a water umbrella for dousing the fire,” said the Army in a press statement.

Oil India Limited on 14 June, through the Civil Administration, had requisitioned assistance of Indian Army for the construction of the bridge on the site of the incident.

The construction involved mobilisation of 233 metric tons of bridging stores over 400 kilometres and 150 specially trained troops of Army who worked in the vicinity of the fire, which is still raging.

Temperatures at the site exceeded 75 degrees celsius said the Army.