Fire at Srisailam hydroelectric plant in India kills nine people
Aug 2020Published 3 Nov 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
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What happened
A fire broke out at Unit 1 in the underground tunnel area of the Srisailam hydroelectric power station, on the left bank of the Srisailam dam in Telangana, India, at around 10:30pm local time on the night of 20 August 2020, according to a report published on 21 August. Twenty people were on shift at the tunnel. Eleven people escaped, but nine people, including a division engineer and four assistant engineers, were trapped and died.
Thick smoke continued to come from the tunnel while rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force and CISF worked to reduce its intensity. According to initial reports, a short circuit at the station is believed to have caused the fire and an explosion. Telangana Transco said that when the fire started, attempts to trip the units failed, so the 400kV input was isolated and all units were tripped. Switching off the current also hampered rescue and escape efforts. The incident is reported to be the first of its kind at the facility, and a probe has been ordered.
Contributing factors
Initial reports point to a short circuit at the station. Smoke prevented staff on lower levels from leaving, and the loss of power during isolation hampered rescue and escape. Attempts to trip the units at the start of the fire did not succeed. The cause has not been confirmed.
Lessons learned
- Operators of underground or multi-level power stations should maintain smoke-protected escape routes and refuges so that staff on lower levels can leave during a fire.
- Protection and tripping systems should be tested under fault conditions to confirm that generating units can be isolated quickly when a fault starts.
- Rescue plans should assume that isolating power will remove lighting and ventilation, and should include backup lighting and breathing equipment.
More lessons on emergency response and public communication, electrical protection and isolation, from every incident on the register.
Published 2026-11-03. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
