Bodies of six engineers recovered from Srisailam power plant

Bodies of six engineers were recovered from an underground unit of Telangana State Power Generation Corporation Limited in Srisailam, where a major fire broke out due to a suspected short circuit on August 20 night. As many as 30 firefighters have been deployed to trace the missing three workers.

Expressing his condolences at the loss of lives, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has directed additional DG of CID, Govind Singh, to launch an investigation into the incident.

Speaking to indianexpress.com, Chief Engineer (Srisailam Left Bank Hydro Electric Station) Prabhakar Rao said: “The bodies were found near the crown tunnel, which is one of the two escape tunnels. The engineers are believed to have died of asphyxiation. At this moment, our only focus is the rescue operation. We will think of losses or damages later.”

The engineers were on maintenance job of electric panels when the mishap took place. Officials said there were 20 employees on the ground floor of the powerhouse when the fire broke out. Initially, the employees tried to contain the blaze with extinguishers but the situation went out of control. While 11 employees ran out to safety through an emergency exit, nine were trapped inside as thick smoke engulfed the area.

Energy Minister G. Jagdishwar Reddy, who is camping at the spot, said: “The tunnel and four-storey underground power house are filled with thick smoke and fire and the rescue personnel have made several unsuccessful attempts since morning to go inside. Despite having oxygen cylinders, they found it difficult to enter the place.”

Moreover, officials were forced to disconnect the power supply to the house, further hampering rescue efforts.

According to Nagarkurnool district fire officer Sri Das, five fire services were pressed into service after a call was received by the state disaster response and fire services at 11.40 pm on August 20. Several teams were sent from Kothakotta, Mahababubnagar, Amarabad, Achampeta and Atmakur in Kurnool district.

There are three floors in the basement of the plant. The bottom floor has turbines, the second and the third floors have generators and electrical panels, and the fourth floor or the ground floor is the service bay, Das, who is leading the operation, told indianexpress.com.

Two teams comprising 20 members, including three officials of Singareni Collieries Company Limited, a state-owned coal miner, were roped in for rescue work. Besides this, the NDRF was also called in to trace the remaining persons.