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Two killed by water pressure from valve burst at Bhutan hydel project
THIMPHU , January 25, 2018 12:18 pm
File photo of Tala Hydropower Project
In a tragic incident, two people lost their lives at the Tala Hydropower Project Authority in Chukha of Bhutan last Saturday, a Kuensel report stated on Wednesday.
The decease, a section officer and a technician died on the impact after a main inlet valve inside the powerhouse burst from extreme water pressure. The accident also injured two other employees.
The main inlet valve is the spherical valve, which is installed before water enters the spiral casing of the hydro turbine.
Dasho Chhewang Rinzin, the managing director of Druk Green Power Corporation said that the four employees were not directly on the line of water impact when the incident occurred, but somewhere around the valve pipe area. "The casualty took place because of the water pressure impact created by the blast," he added.
He said that investigation is still on to determine the cause of the failure of the pipe which is expected to take few more days.
"We were able to switch off the water in 80 seconds after the incident. However, the incident did not have any effect on the generation of power," he further added.
The pipeline failed even though water pressure is constantly monitored by the project.
The managing director also said they would replace the pipes soon.
Notably, this is the second accident that occurred at the project. However, there was no casualty in the first incident.