Nine people died in a fire mishap in the Srisailam hydroelectric plant on the Telangana-Andhra
Pradesh border on Friday, a senior government official said.
Six bodies have been recovered by rescue teams so far and efforts were on to pull out the others from the underground plant, Nagarkurnool District Collector L Sharman said.
The fire broke out late on Thursday night when at least 17 people were inside the plant and eight of them managed to come out, officials said.
Earlier, bodies of two assistant engineers were recovered and sent for post-mortem. Police identified the other body as that of assistant engineer Mohan Kumar.
PM Narendra Modi sent his condolences to the families of the victims. He tweeted saying, "Fire at the Srisailam hydroelectric plant is deeply unfortunate. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those injured recover at the earliest."
The District 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 were 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.
