Three die in Himachal hydro plant accident

Kuldeep Chauhan

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Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 15

Three persons died at the state-run Rongtong power project in Spiti valley when a valve at the plant burst all of a sudden around 8.15 pm on Sunday night.

Sanjay Kumar, Vijay Kumar and Sanish were killed while they were fixing the new turbine.

As many as 25 workers were working in the 2-MW project at that time. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was to inaugurate the project on June 19.

Official sources said the bursting of the main inlet valve, which controls the water supply to the turbine, led to the death of the engineers. They were crushed under the turbine.

Two of them were from the state electricity board, while the third was from a private company in Noida.

The hydropower plant, which is more than 20 years old, supplies electricity mainly to Kaza town. The repair work was on at the plant, which was closed since 2013, as most of the machinery was outdated.

Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) has set up a four-member panel to look into the accident. The board has also announced Rs 2 lakh relief to the kin of the victims.