A massive blaze broke out Thursday at a crude oil well in Assam, northeast India, that had been spilling oil for the past three days and fire fighters were battling to put out the towering blaze.

The fire that broke out at around one o'clock Thursday afternoon was described by oil experts as the worst ever in the region, Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) reports Thursday.

India produces 30 million tons of crude oil annually, of which 5 million tons come from Assam. However, 70 percent of its domestic oil requirement is met through imports.

A spokesman of the government-run Oil India Limited (OIL), the country's premier oil exploration firm, said they have summoned a team of Russian oil experts to control the blaze and plug the flow of oil gushing out of the well near Dikom tea garden, about 520 km east of Assam capital Guwahati.

"This could be the worst ever fire with the blaze rising at least 35 to 40 feet, creating a thick blanket of black smoke in the area," OIL spokesman Prassanta Barkakati was quoted by IANS as saying near the fire site.

"The fire is visible from a distance of about five kilometers with the smoke almost blanketing the sun," police official B. Das said.

Police said hundreds of tea garden workers and villagers living in and around the oil well have fled to safer areas.

At least 25 fire engines have arrived at the location.

"We have requisitioned several fire engines from nearby areas and also from the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) to put out the blaze," Group General Manager of OIL J. K. Talukdar said. "A team of foreign experts are arriving Friday to completely kill the well so that the leakage is stopped."

"Along with crude, natural gas was coming out of the well and hence the intensity of the fire," Talukdar said.

OIL officials have asked locals not to remain near the area, fearing health hazards.

"If the fire is not put out soon it could endanger both the local people and the wildlife. The tea garden is likely to be hit as the heat generated from the oil well fire and the crude spewing onto the plantation could affect the tea leaves," the official said.

Earlier in July this year, a massive fire engulfed the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's drilling platform at Bombay High, killing 10 persons. Bombay High is India's largest offshore oil field. Situated some 161 km north of the Mumbai coast in West India, it produces 14 percent of India's oil requirements and accounts for 38 percent of all domestic production.

Source: Xinhua