Telangana Srisailam power plant fire: 6 bodies recovered, CM orders CID probe

Hyderabad, Aug 21: Six bodies have been recovered by rescue teams from the Srisailam hydroelectric plant on the Telangana-Andhra Pradesh border, where nine persons are feared trapped in a fire mishap, officials said on Friday. The engineers were on the maintenance job of the electric panels when the mishap occurred.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has directed additional DG of CID, Govind Singh, to launch a thorough probe and also sought a report in this regard.

Both were assistant engineers at the plant. Nagarkurnool District Collector L Sharman said the body of Assistant Engineer Sunder Nayak, hailing from Suryapet, has been recovered and been sent for post-mortem. Police identified the other body as that of assistant engineer Mohan Kumar.

The Collector told PTI that CISF personnel have also joined the rescue operations and added that five fire engines are engaged in the operation. Thick smoke is still coming out of the tunnel where the hydel project is located and efforts are on to lessen its intensity , he said.

Nine persons are feared trapped in Srisailam Left bank hydroelectric station located underground on the Telangana- Andhra Pradesh border after the fire broke out late last night. Though the fire was put off, thick smoke engulfed the tunnel where the power plant is located, hampering the rescue operations

Six persons are currently undergoing treatment at a hospital for suffocation. Out of those trapped, one is a Deputy Engineer, four are Assistant Engineers and two are workers of the plant, Sharma said.

There were a total of 30 employees of Telangana State Power Generation Corporation (TSGenco) inside the powerhouse when the accident took place late Thursday night. While six employees were rescued and brought out of the tunnel, 15 others managed to come out through the emergency exit route of the project.