At least 13 people were killed and over 150 injured in a massive fire which broke out Thursday evening at an oil depot on the outskirts of the western Indian state of Rajasthan's capital Jaipur, a senior police official said Friday.

"This is said to be one of the worst fire related incident in Indian Oil Corporation's history. The fire started due to a leakage in one of the valves late Thursday evening at the state- owned Indian Oil Corporation's depot and engulfed at least five of the 13 tanks that stored petrol, diesel and kerosene. Some 13 people have died so far, though the official death toll has been kept at six," the police official said.

Rescue operation is underway in the depot and the Indian Army has been pressed into service apart from fire-fighters to put out the fire and rescue the trapped people.

"The blaze could be seen from up to 20 km. People near the depot have been evacuated," he said.

Meanwhile, Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, who has rushed to the spot to oversee the relief operations, said that the fire at the depot has to die down on its own.

"There is not much we can do currently. We have to let all of petrol and diesel to burn before fire tenders can even go anywhere near the burning tanks," the minister told the media.

The Indian government has announced a compensation of one million rupees (20,000 U.S. dollars) for the families of those killed, 200,000 rupees for the seriously injured and 100,000 rupees for those who sustained minor injuries.

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