Telangana
Telangana: Six dead after fire at Srisailam power station
Hyderabad/IBNS: Six people have died in the fire at Srisailam Left Bank Power Station (SLBP) that broke out on late Thursday night, said a media report.
Indian PM Narendra Modi condoles loss of lives in the tragedy.
"Fire at the Srisailam hydroelectric plant is deeply unfortunate. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those injured recover at the earliest," Modi tweeted.
Fire at the Srisailam hydroelectric plant is deeply unfortunate. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those injured recover at the earliest.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 21, 2020
The deceased were among the nine missing after fire broke out at unit one of the under tunnel power house of Srisailam Left Bank Power Station (SLBP), said an NDTV report.
The six people were among the nine men who were missing following the fire, the report added.
The SLBP is located on the Telangana side of the Srisailam reservoir on Krishna river.
It is an irrigation project between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Nineteen people were on shift when the fire started at around 10:30 pm on Thursday. While 10 people managed to escape the site, nine people, including one division engineer, two junior plant attendants, four assistant engineers and two others from Amara Raja Batteries were trapped inside, said an NDTV report.
The report said that a short circuit at the underground hydroelectric power station situated at Srisailam dam's left bank is suspected to have caused the fire.
An official said those trapped were at the lower level and couldn't come out due to smoke and since electricity was also disconnected it might have hindered their escape. However, those working at the control room could leave the unit immediately, said the NDTV report.
A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) along with firefighters are continuing efforts to evacuate the trapped people. A team of Singareni with experience in tackling mishaps in underground units has also joined the rescue operation, added the report.
Energy minister Jagadish Reddy, minister Niranjan Reddy, CMD Prabhakar Rao reached the site at night and are overseeing the rescue operations.
Telangana Chief Minister KCR Rao is closely monitoring the situation, his office said, the NDTV report stated, adding that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has called off his visit to Srisailam project site where he was supposed to conduct Jala Harathi (puja).
CMD Prabhakar Rao Reddy said this is the first accident in the plant and why it happened has to be investigated.
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