What happened

A major fire broke out inside Telangana State Power Generation Corporation's underground Srisailam Left Bank Hydroelectric Station. Grid records place the start at approximately 22:25, when the running units tripped one after another and connected transmission lines opened at their remote ends. Fifteen employees escaped through an emergency route, but heavy smoke trapped nine workers—five engineers and four other employees—whose bodies were recovered after an overnight rescue effort. Early official accounts suspected an electrical short circuit near a control panel; the reviewed public sources did not establish that preliminary explanation as a final technical finding. The Telangana government initially announced ₹50 lakh for the deputy engineer's family and ₹25 lakh for each other victim's family, along with a job for an eligible dependent. A later National Green Tribunal record described enhanced ex-gratia assistance of ₹75 lakh for the families of seven deceased state employees. The plant sits on the Telangana side of the Andhra Pradesh–Telangana border and has six 150 MW units.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.