Several injured in fire at naphtha theft point near Indian petrochemicals plant

A fire near an unauthorized naphtha theft point near India's Haldia refinery has injured several people, Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd, which owns the refinery said on Tuesday.

Earlier, local media had reported a massive fire in the refinery, located in India's eastern state of West Bengal in the early hours of Tuesday, with visuals showing smoke and fire billowing out of the area.

"Preliminary information suggests that the incident may have occurred in the vicinity of an unauthorised naphtha theft point located in the plant vicinity," Haldia Petrochemicals said in a statement.

The statement did not specify if the fire has affected operations at the refinery.

"We are aware of an incident that occurred at our Haldia facility, in which a few people have reportedly sustained injuries," the statement said.

HPL said the exact cause of the incident is under investigation and said it had cautioned local communities against unauthorized access to petroleum products.

Several of the injured had been moved to hospitals, local media said.

-Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Lincoln Feast/Reuters