Hyderabad: The gas pipeline that caught fire could not be doused for hours by the fire tenders.

“The pipeline in Maddigunta is located between Zaheerabad and Patancheru. They closed valves at these two places and interrupted the gas pressure. They also pushed back the gas to Kakinada, and the fire was brought under control,” said an official. The gas leak led to panic in the villages surrounding the pipelines in the districts. Local sources said, that the fire was several feet high, restricting any physical intervention in the area.

Medak police has booked a case and started investigation. A special team of RGTIL technicians from Mumbai has visited the spot to investigate what went wrong.

“We will be doing our investigation taking cue from their probe. A questionnaire will be sent to the RGTIL team for an explanation. We will also be verifying the CCTV footages captured by the camera,” said Sadashivapet circle inspector Srinivas Naidu.