Putin urges mass checks after dam accident

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-20 23:19

A general view shows the damaged machine room of Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station near Siberian village of Cheryomushki, about 520 km (323 miles) south of Krasnoyarsk, August 18, 2009. [Agencies]

MOSCOW: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered Thursday that key parts of Russia's aging infrastructure be checked and upgraded after a power plant accident in Siberia left scores feared dead and strained the vast region's power supply.

The confirmed death toll in the Russian power plant accident rose to 17 Thursday after three more bodies were found, and harrowing escape stories emerged from the few survivors.

Over 1,000 rescue workers searched the massive Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric plant in southern Siberia for the 57 people who remain missing and are feared dead. On Thursday, workers pumped out the remaining water from the damaged engine room to try to find more bodies.

A powerful explosion Monday blew out walls and caused the power plant's turbine room to flood. Three of the plant's 10 turbines were reportedly destroyed and three others were damaged. The cause of the accident is unclear but officials cited a faulty turbine and a rise of pressure in the pipes as possible triggers.

"The tragic event at the Sayano-Shushenskaya have clearly shown how much we need to do to ensure safety of hydropower facilities," Putin told a Cabinet session in Moscow. "We need to conduct a thorough check of all strategic and vital parts of infrastructure and work out a plan for their regular upgrade."

He also emphasized the need to make sure that workers observe industrial safety standards.

"In our country ... discipline in dealing with technology is very low," he noted, adding that he would visit Sayano-Shushenskaya, Russia's largest power plant, on Friday.

The crippled power station has been shut down since the accident and could be out of service for a significant time as repairs are made.

The accident prompted new warnings about increasing risks posed by Russia's aging infrastructure.

"(This accident) exposed the fairly fragile state of key parts of the infrastructure," said Chris Weafer, chief strategist at the UralSib investment bank. "Time and time again in Russia it does take an accident to spur the government into taking some actions in terms of improving safety or regulations."

Columnist Sergei Leskov wrote in the Izvestia paper that the Russia government has failed to modernize the nation's crumbling Soviet-built infrastructure, threatening the nation's security.

"Equipment and infrastructure are horrendously worn-out and neglected. An urge for modernization and support for high technology are no longer an issue of economic security, they are badly needed for the survival of Russian citizens," he wrote.

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