A major fire broke out in an underground hydroelectric power unit of at Srisailam project in Telangana on Thursday night.

The incident took place around 10.30 pm on Thursday. At least 25 people were on duty at the time when fire broke out at the power station. As per latest updates, 10 have been rescued while nine are still missing.

Officials said a short circuit in one of the underground hydel power unit situated of Srisailam project led to a fire, trapping at least nine persons. The short circuit was reportedly followed by an explosion in unit 4 of the power house.

Fire broke out at Left Bank Power House in Srisailam, in Telangana side, late last night. Fire engine from Atmakur Fire Station, Kurnool deployed. Ten people rescued, of which 6 are under treatment at a hospital in Srisailam. Nine people still feared trapped. More details awaited https://t.co/Y3uoIioR4b pic.twitter.com/p9WNoytpsF

— ANI (@ANI) August 21, 2020

The Telangana government sought the help of the NDRF after over eight-hour long rescue effort of employees, including five engineers failed.

Engineers of the Telangana State Power Generation Corporation (TSPGC) were working on routine maintenance when the fire broke out.

The station has more than six power generators at its underground plant -- each one carries out 150 MW (megawatts) capacity electrical power generators. The fourth panel caught fire first, officials said.

Duty officers tried to douse the fire, but power shutdown made it difficult.