Panic in Hajin after well discharges fire and water

Chaos and panic gripped Gund-Jahangeer village of Hajin in Bandipora after a well started throwing up flames.

The news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), learnt that villagers were shocked and panicked after a common well started throwing up heavy flames for the last two days.

A video clip of the well spewing fire along with water has also gone viral on social media.

The minute-long video shows fire and water constantly coming out from the ground.

Authorities sent a team to the site for further examination. "After a detailed analysis, we might get the exact reason behind the incident," said an official.

Meanwhile, experts said that the release of flammable gas along with the water from the well is not a miraculous event. "It is usually a hydrocarbon (methane) gas. Where sedimentary rocks contain plant residues along with sediments (fine sands) in marshy areas, methane gas is formed by dissolution-decomposition by physico-chemical processes," they said.

They also said that the gas becomes dangerous when it evaporates out of the water and into peoples’ homes, where it can become flammable. It can also suffocate those who breathe it.

"Drinking water with methane, the largest component of natural gas, isn’t necessarily harmful as it escapes from water quickly, like bubbles in a soda," says Professor Gulam Jeelani of Kashmir Universty earth sciences department—(KNO)