ONGC gas well fire extinguished after five-day battle

The fire triggered by a major gas blowout at an ONGC-owned well in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district was extinguished on Saturday (January 10, 2026) morning.

Konaseema District Joint Collector T. Nisanthi said the blowout has been fully controlled.

“The fire is extinguished. Almost no flames now. Blowout (was) fully controlled this (Saturday) morning only,” she told PTI.

Further, she said operations pertaining to capping of the gas well, Mori-5, and some mudding, a technical process, are underway now.

A massive fireball reaching up to a height of 20 metres and a width of 25 metres erupted on January 5 near Mori and Irusumanda villages, following a gas leak at Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)-owned well Mori-5.

The gas well located in the lush green and amply irrigated Konaseema district was being operated by ONGC’s Production Enhancement Contractor (PEC) Deep Industries Ltd., an Ahmedabad-based listed company.

Following the disaster, ONGC senior management took direct operational control.

The ONGC Crisis Management Team has toiled for nearly five days to douse the fire and succeeded in extinguishing the blaze.

Fortunately, there was no loss of life or injury in the disaster.