A fire, followed by an explosion, was reported at an underground hydroelectric power station of the Srisailam project in Telangana. Rescue operations with at least eight people feared trapped.
A major fire broke out in an underground hydroelectric power unit of at Srisailam project in Telangana on Thursday night.
The incident took place around 10.30 pm on Thursday. At least 25 people were on duty at the time when fire broke out at the power station. As per latest updates, 10 have been rescued while eight are still missing.
Officials said a short circuit in one of the underground hydel power unit situated of Srisailam project led to a fire, trapping at least eight persons. The short circuit was reportedly followed by an explosion in unit 4 of the power house.
Fire broke out at Left Bank Power House in Srisailam, in Telangana side, late last night. Fire engine from Atmakur Fire Station, Kurnool deployed. Ten people rescued, of which 6 are under treatment at a hospital in Srisailam. Nine people still feared trapped. More details awaited https://t.co/Y3uoIioR4b pic.twitter.com/p9WNoytpsF
— ANI (@ANI) August 21, 2020
The Telangana government sought the help of the NDRF after over eight-hour long rescue effort of employees, including five engineers failed.
WHAT HAPPENED
The dam is situated on river Krishna which divides Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Engineers of the Telangana State Power Generation Corporation (TSPGC) were working on routine maintenance when the fire broke out.
The station has more than six power generators at its underground plant — each one carries out 150 MW (megawatts) capacity electrical power generators. The fourth panel caught fire first, officials said.
Duty officers tried to douse the fire, but power shutdown made it difficult.
Dense smoke was seen coming out from the zero level and rising to the service bay and soon the entire power station was filled with the billows of smoke. This hampered the rescue operation at the station.
Source: India Today
