Navi Mumbai: Two contractual staffers were killed instantly when a pipeline burst during a maintenance procedure, called pigging, at a liquid cargo jetty in Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) in Uran on Sunday morning.
The pigging process, which involves cleaning the interior of a pipeline, is initiated after every delivery. On Saturday evening, the pigging stopper got stuck in the pipeline at JSW liquid jetty after acetic acid was pumped out of a berthed vessel. The pressure rise caused a burst in the pipeline when an attempt was made to pull out the stopper, killing the duo on the spot, said sources. The incident took place within metres of the vessel berthing area.
The deceased were identified as loading master Rajendra Shinde (35), who hailed from Lanja in Ratnagiri, and Jagannath Gawand (55), a resident of Pirkon village in Uran.
Doctors at JNPA hospital declared the duo dead on arrival. Their bodies were sent to government-run Indira Gandhi Rural Hospital in Uran for post-mortem examination.
Medical superintendent of the govt hospital, Dr Babaso Kalel said, “Both victims have lost large parts of their heads and skulls...There were no signs of burn injuries.”
A port official said, “Possibly the two victims were unaware or ignored the precaution to maintain a safe distance during such an operation. The stopper was supposed to be repositioned properly to start the next round of pigging. This was an accident.”
Nhava Sheva police have filed an accidental death report and are probing the possible causes of the incident. They are awaiting a technical report from the appropriate authority, said a police officer.
Following the incident, many have raised concern over the safety and security lapses at the jetty. Locals have demanded a proper safety audit of the pipeline among other equipment for workers’ safety.
