Bengaluru: 15 hurt, 2 critical in KPTCL plant blast due to gas leak

Bengaluru: It was black day for the employees who work in Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) plant in Yelahanka in Bengaluru. As many as 15 officials working at the KPTCL plant in Yelahanka in Bengaluru were injured on Friday after a fire following a gas leak in the plant. According to the reports, two of the officials at the plant were critically injured in the incident.

The injured workers from the plant are undergoing treatment in a nearby hospital following the fire. Sources said the blast reportedly occurred at 3:00 am on Friday and a series of ambulances were seen ferrying injured engineers to nearby hospitals.

According to CK Baba, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru Northeast, "It was a gas leakage which caused a fire at the plant. It was extinguished soon after when seven fire tenders rushed to the spot." The sources from KPTCL confirmed that there was a blast following a gas leak from one of the turbines that was due for commissioning in a few days at the plant. The KPTCL has taken all safety measures, but the incident happened at the site while testing the gas turbine before its actual commissioning.

It is reported that a total of 15 engineers comprising Assistant Executive Engineers (AEEs) and Executive Engineers (EEs) and other electrical assistants suffered burn injuries. Two persons are critically injured.

Reports had earlier suggested that the gas leak had led to a blast on Friday morning, prompting a response from fire department officials.

The 350 MW gas-based power plant built by the KPTCL near Yelahanka, north Bengaluru, in a recent days during the project constriction, residents have filed a public interest litigation to protect the surroundings of the project site as it was very close to Yelahanka's Puttenahalli Lake, a wildlife protected area that is just 500 metres from the plant.