Telangana: 9 dead in Srisailam power plant fire mishap

HYDERABAD: Nine persons died while 15 others managed to escape after a fire broke out in an underground hydroelectricity power station at Srisailam in Telangana. The fire broke out due to a suspected short-circuit on Thursday night following which 15 employees managed to escape while nine others were trapped inside.
The bodies of nine persons who were trapped inside the underground hydroelectric plant were retrieved on Friday evening. The rescue operations were launched by teams from NDRF, CISF, Singareni Collieries and Telangana Fire Services.
PM Narendra Modi said the fire at the Srisailam hydroelectric plant is deeply unfortunate, while vice president Venkaiah Naidu said he was distressed by the loss of lives in the fire incident.
"Fire at the Srisailam hydroelectric plant is deeply unfortunate. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those injured recover at the earliest," PM Modi said in a tweet.

"My thoughts are with the bereaved families," Naidu said in a tweet.

Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has ordered an inquiry by the crime investigation department (CID). Additional director general of police Govind Singh will lead the inquiry which will probe the reasons that caused the fire. The chief minister has asked for the reasons for the fire accident to be brought to light and submit a report to the government.
The 15 employees who managed to come out of the underground power station are out of danger said TSGENCO local hospital authorities. The hydel power generation was shut down and the current being switched off also hampered rescue and escape efforts, said an official.

This hydroelectric plant is located near Telangana's border with Andhra Pradesh. One of nine bodies have been identified as that of assistant engineer Sundar Naik, said Nagarkurnool district collector L Sharman.
“Our engineers tried to trip the units as soon as fire broke out but could not trip them. The Hydel power generation has completely been stopped at the station following the incident. The underground power station operates at multiple levels. Those in the control room managed to come out and others at lower levels could not come out because of the smoke. The nine persons who were trapped included a division engineer, four assistant engineers, two junior plant attendants and two others from Amara Raja Batteries,” TSGenco chairman and managing director D Prabhakar Rao said.

Energy minister Jagadish Reddy, TSGENCO and Transco chairman and managing director D Prabhakar Rao reached the accident site last night and are overseeing rescue operations. This is the first such accident at the plant. The extent of damage is yet to be assessed. The priority is to rescue those trapped inside, said an official.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has ordered the officials to extend all possible help to their counterparts in Telangana for the rescue operations. Jagan has also called off his visit to Srisailam which was to commence on Friday.