What happened

A fire and heavy smoke spread from a 220 kV underground electricity cable trench in the central warehousing area of BPCL's Kochi refinery. Approximately 42 families were evacuated from nearby Ayyankuzhi, while five refinery workers and two residents were reported to have experienced smoke-related discomfort; no deaths or serious injuries were reported. BPCL and public fire-service units contained the blaze. A district inquiry later attributed it to overheating and failure at a joint in the Kerala State Electricity Board cable and noted that protective sand filling was absent at straight-joint locations. Reporting said roughly 200–300 metres of cable burned, while a later local account cited broader cable damage. No process-unit damage, production loss or refinery-wide shutdown was established in the reviewed sources.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.