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Dozens Feared Dead in Russian Accident

By NATALIYA VASILYEVA

posted: 4 HOURS 45 MINUTES AGO

comments: 32

filed under: World News

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MOSCOW (Aug. 18) — Divers scoured the near-freezing waters flooding the cavernous rooms of Russia's largest hydroelectric plant on Tuesday but the owner said it was doubtful that any of the 64 workers missing after an accident would be found alive.

The accident Monday, which drowned or crushed to death 12 other workers, shut down the massive Sayano-Shushenskaya power plant in southern Siberia and left several towns and major factories without electricity. The plant provides 10 percent of Siberia's energy needs, according to Russian media reports.

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Damage to the Sayano-Shushinskaya power station in Russia on Aug. 18.

Russian Emergency Ministry / Siberian Branch / AP

Monday's deadly explosion shut down the Sayano-Shushenskaya power plant, Russia's largest hydroelectric plant. The Siberian facility produces electricity for a wide region, and it was unclear how long other plants could fill the gap.

Two workers were found alive Monday in niches inside the flooded structure, RusHydro acting chief Vasily Zubakin was quoted as saying, but hope was fading for the 64 still missing.

"With every hour, there is less and less chance left that we will find somebody alive," RusHydro spokesman Yevgeny Druzyaka told The Associated Press on Tuesday. RusHydro officials say the water temperature around the plant is around 4 C (40 F).

Regional Gov. Viktor Zimin refuted allegations that rescue teams had heard knocking sounds from inside the plant after the accident, saying the dam's thick concrete walls would muffle any sounds from inside.

Federal investigators said an explosion destroyed walls and the ceiling in a room where turbines are located and caused the room to flood. One of the plant's 10 turbines was destroyed, two were partly destroyed and three others were damaged, officials said.

The plant's dam, a towering structure that stretches a kilometer (more than half a mile) across the Yenisei River, was not damaged and towns downstream were not in danger, Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

Former plant director Alexander Toloshinov said some workers trapped in the flooded control room could have survived by finding a corner with some air left.

Three groups of divers were searching for the missing workers both inside the flooded rooms and in the river outside, Shoigu said in televised comments, adding that the workers were now believed to have drowned or been crushed by debris from the explosion.

The accident also produced an oil slick that by Tuesday stretched over 50 miles (80 kilometers) down the Yenisei. Crews were struggling to stop it but so far had not.

Supplies from other power plants were being rerouted Tuesday to help cover the region's shortfall but it was unclear how long other power plants would be able to keep making up for the energy shortage.

RusHydro said a faulty turbine at the plant, which began operating in 1978, was likely to blame. Investigators believe the accident occurred after a defective lid of one turbine was torn off during repair work, Yelena Vishnyakova, another RusHydro spokeswoman, told the AP.

Shoigu, however, said that was merely one of several theories about why the accident occurred, Russian news agencies reported.

RusHydro said replacing the damaged equipment at the plant may take up to two years but the undamaged turbines could be put back into operation in a month.

Shoigu said the repairs would be difficult.

"We're probably talking about years rather than months to restore three of the 10 turbines," he said on state-run television.

More than 70 percent of all energy from the Sayano-Shushenskaya plant goes to four Siberian smelters of Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer. Rusal reported Monday that it was operating as usual with smelters being powered from other plants.

Analysts said the lack of energy from the Sayano-Shushenskaya did not pose immediate risks for Rusal, but could seriously impede its development if the metals market picks up next year.

The company was talking with the government about reducing output to free up energy supplies needed elsewhere in the region, Rusal said in a statement.

Aging infrastructure has long been regarded as a key obstacle to Russia's development.

Analysts have warned that Russia needs to boost its power production significantly to meet the growing demand of industrial producers or it will face regular power shortages. Monday's accident put Russia's plans to increase its power capacity in jeopardy.

RusHydro said each bereaved family would receive 1 million rubles ($31,300) in compensation for their loss. The 12 dead workers are to be buried on Wednesday and Thursday.

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Trading in RusHydro's shares at two Russian stock exchanges remained halted on Tuesday although the company said it could resume on Wednesday.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2009-08-18 10:57:37

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AP International NewsBrief at 2:20 p.m. EDT
4 hours ago
64 missing workers feared dead in Russian accident
5 hours ago
AP Business NewsBrief at 10:44 a.m. EDT
7 hours ago

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Vallpoboy17

06:46 PMAug 18 2009

never fly anything russian or be inside anything russian built.

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Wbc1962

06:46 PMAug 18 2009

Wow, that's pretty sad.

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JHoppe920

06:43 PMAug 18 2009

I suppose the good ol USA will send financial help! HELP OUR OWN PEOPLE FIRST!!

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Jrj2304

06:41 PMAug 18 2009

Gotta watch the Karma over there!

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MDDunnington

06:41 PMAug 18 2009

The Bush's were the Dictator's and McCain the puppet was going to follow right in there foot steps. The Bush's did what they wanted too. And just try to stop the Bush's when they were in Power in doing anything,,well good luck on that one. So why put blame on someone that took on there monster of a big mess that they made.

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Chaotische ziel

06:33 PMAug 18 2009

Uhhh once you have the ability to make nukes you can never lose than.Even though the Russians never mastered target accuracy they made up for it with size.Russia is still considered a superpower and have some UNBELIEVABLY devastating hydrogen bombs.Far as this story a stranger offering condolences to another stranger is pretty much fruitless so I'll just say I'm glad it wasnt american workers.Getting blown up is probably the crappiest way to die next to burning to death RIP

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BJTitsengolfJr

06:30 PMAug 18 2009

Dskaalrud5 05:48 PMAug 18 2009 Sad as the death toll is, at least it was some turbines that blew up and not a nuclear reactor. Any electricians out there? What would have caused this? ============= Pure speculation, but you do not shut down the whole dam to repair one broken turbine. The turbines sit in a row usually on a dam this large but the working nine would be spinning at a very high RPM. There was a total of six turbines destroyed or damaged which means all ten were in one room. The metal parts are large and heavy and cranes are used to lift the parts off the shaft. It is possible the crane broke, or the crane operator swung his load into a spinning turbine. The large pieces would be caught in the moving parts which would cause the spin to wobble out of control causing the unit to explode. The oil slick was caused by cooling/lubicating oil used to reduce the friction of the moving parts around the shaft. An automobile's engine uses 5 or 6 quarts of oil but also uses a fan/radia...

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RFishydad

06:28 PMAug 18 2009

I offer my sympathy to the families of this tragedy. Such negative comments are childish.This was the king of socialism folks; we're headed that way.Let's just let our central government & the rest of the state pawns grabmore of our enterprises & see what happens. Busness, enterprise allneed leaders, engineers, workers motivated by all the right ingredients.Government should enforce the laws to protect the working middle class,not grab more power. They are doing a poor job now; think it's gonnabe all better by giving them more?

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Aquatechnologies

06:28 PMAug 18 2009

Just in case there is anyone out ther with any sense THERE IS NOTHING EXPLOSIVE IN A HYRO ELECTRIC PLANT. Any explosion that happened was planted... Maybe there are groups that are tired of Russia... Like chechen rebels.. Folks who got their family murdered in Georgia... and on and on and on

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ELLIESWENSON

06:16 PMAug 18 2009

The Russian mob was probably in charge of the construction of this plant. Worker safety does not appear to be a high priority in Russia. If it takes two years to rebuild the hydroelectric plant, the Russians had better pray that global warming comes to Siberia this winter.

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