A fire at a pitch storage tank at HPCL's Visakh Refinery in Visakhapatnam was brought under control on Monday night, with no casualties.

The fire began at around 10 pm on November 2, according to a statement from the state-run company.

HPCL said its refinery fire and safety team responded as soon as the fire was detected. The blaze stayed in the pitch tank area.

"All the Units of Refinery are working safely," HPCL said. It reported no casualties and no damage to any refinery units.

Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi said the fire posed no threat to other units and the smoke was not considered hazardous at that stage.

Residents nearby reported explosion-like sounds, flames and thick black smoke. Police have not confirmed that an explosion took place.

Revenue Divisional Officer Dileep Chakravarthy said a small blast was reported before the fire broke out. The blaze was later fully extinguished.

The cause has not been established, and HPCL has not said how badly the tank was damaged.

The Visakh refinery, commissioned by Caltex in 1957, was India's first refinery on the east coast. Its capacity is now 15 million tonnes a year.

Read what officials said about the HPCL refinery fire in the full report on Trends News Stories.