Oil: Boots and prayers help fight massive blaze at Indian oil well

Fire-fighters battling to extinguish a massive two week old blaze at an oil well in India's north-eastern state of Assam, have joined a group of Buddhist monks to offers special prayers at the fire site.

An official of the state-owned exploration firm, Oil India Limited (OIL), said: "A group of local Buddhist monks came on their own and offered prayers at the well site so that the fire could be put out soon. Many of the workers present at the site joined the prayers."

The well was damaged on September 13, causing oil and natural gas to escape from the site in a remote tea-growing area of Assam. The gas ignited two days later.

A four-member US team of experts from the Texas based Boots and Coots International Well Control are supervising the operations.