9 Feared Trapped as Fire Breaks out at Telangana Hydel Power Plant

Hyderabad: Nine persons are feared trapped in Srisailam hydroelectric plant located underground on the Telangana-Andhra Pradesh border after a fire broke out on Thursday night and "huge smoke" was preventing rescue personnel from entering in, officials said on Friday.

Nagarkurnool district Collector L Sharman said three fire engines were engaged in extinguishing the huge smoke emanating from the plant's premises. 

While Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was monitoring the rescue work through his cabinet colleague, Union Minister of State for Home, Kishan Reddy, said he has asked NDRF to join the rescue efforts.

"There is huge smoke and because of it we are not able to enter into the plant premises. By 11 am we expect to enter the plant," Sharman told PTI, adding, nine persons including seven staff members are stuck.

Those stuck include a Deputy Engineer and an Assistant Engineer.

"Our main target is to rescue them...we are not able to contact them because they are not carrying mobile phones and there is no mobile network," he said.

Quoting preliminary information, he said short-circuit is suspected to have caused the fire. 

According to B Suresh, Chief Engineer of Telangana State Power Generation Corporation (GENCO), there were nearly 25 people at the powerhouse when the mishap took place. However, about 15 or 16 managed to come out.

A police official said six persons have been admitted to local hospitals for treatment for suffocation.

Built on river Krishna, the Srisailam Left Bank power station, about 200 km from Hyderabad, is operated by the Telangana State Power Generation Corporation (GENCO).

The plant has six units with combined capacity of 900 MW (6X150). The power generation was in full swing following the incessant rains during the past few days.

Power generation has been suspended following the fire mishap.

The fire has been brought under control but thick smoke engulfed the underground area of the powerhouse making rescue operations difficult, officials said.

Two of the nine who are trapped belong to a private firm that maintains batteries, officials said.

"There are three emergency exits in the pant. There is a possibility that they (trapped) can come out through them.

But we cannot say until the smoke is cleared and the rescue teams can go inside," Suresh said.

The plant is located in a one km long tunnel and the fire is suspected to have broke out at the service bay area in the Main Control Room, a Fire Department official said.

"We were not able to reach the site as dense smoke engulfed the area. As of now we are trying to put off small patches of fire here and there at the transformer area," the official said.