A major fire at a naphtha pipeline operated by Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. (HPL) in West Bengal has claimed one life and left more than 20 people injured, bringing renewed attention to process safety and pipeline integrity across India’s petrochemical sector.
The blaze broke out during the early hours of Tuesday at HPL’s manufacturing complex in Haldia, Purba Medinipur district. Fueled by highly flammable naphtha, the fire burned for more than 15 hours as multiple firefighting teams worked to contain the incident. More than a dozen fire tenders were deployed, while nearby areas were secured to prevent further escalation.
Authorities confirmed that a 38-year-old woman succumbed to burn injuries, while over 20 others—including plant workers, security personnel, and local residents—were injured. Several victims sustained critical burns and were shifted to hospitals in Haldia, Tamluk, and Kolkata for treatment.
The incident also disrupted railway operations after the intense heat damaged overhead railway equipment near the affected pipeline, temporarily affecting train services in the region.
The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.
In a preliminary statement, Haldia Petrochemicals indicated that the incident may have occurred near an unauthorised naphtha theft point in the vicinity of the pipeline. The company stressed that this is an initial assessment and that a detailed investigation is being conducted in coordination with the relevant authorities.
Naphtha is one of the most critical feedstocks in the petrochemical industry, serving as the primary raw material for steam crackers that produce ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, and other building blocks used in plastics, synthetic rubber, solvents, and specialty chemicals. Any disruption involving naphtha infrastructure is therefore closely monitored by downstream polymer and chemical markets.
Industry observers note that while investigations are still ongoing, the incident underscores the importance of pipeline surveillance, asset integrity management, emergency response preparedness, and protection of critical petrochemical infrastructure against both operational failures and external interference.
Haldia Petrochemicals is one of eastern India’s largest integrated petrochemical producers, manufacturing polymers including polyethylene and polypropylene alongside a range of petrochemical intermediates. At the time of publication, the company had not announced any long-term impact on plant operations, and authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.