Sudden fire emanating from an unused borewell located adjacent to a fish tank at N. Kothapalli village in Uppalaguptam mandal on Friday created panic among the local fish farmers and passers by.
The borewell was dug about two decades ago and was not in use. About 10 a.m., biogas and water surged from the borewell.
As the gas caught fire, people in the vicinity began to panic, as they feared a blowout.
Passersby mistook it for leakage of a gas pipe and alerted the police.
The police informed the revenue officials, who, in turn, brought the issue to notice of the officials of the ONGC and sought their help in putting out the fire. By the time a team of technical experts from the ONGC’s Rajahmundry Base Camp reaching the spot, the fire subsided automatically.
The technical experts suspected someone might have lighted the gas either knowingly or unknowingly. They have decided to cap the borewell.
Srinivasa Raju, owner of the site in which the bore well is located, was clueless about the sudden functioning of the otherwise idle borewell.
