A minor fire was reported at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota (SDSC SHAR), located 100 km from here. Though the incident happened on Wednesday, it came to light on Thursday.
Officials say ‘insignificant event’
The accident occurred at the Solid Propellant Plant (SPP), in which two panels were reportedly gutted. Staff manning the plant immediately doused the fire, though the cause and source of the mishap is not immediately known. Officials in the know of things however brushed it aside it an ‘insignificant event’ and attributed it to the burning down of worn-out cables kept aside as scrap.
The shortage of manpower at the sprawling compound, ostensibly due to the lockdown situation prevailing across the nation, is believed to have added to lack of supervision.
Senior officials, who are seized of the matter, however remain tight-lipped on the issue. It may be recalled that the plant witnessed a similar accident last year, while a duty personnel was killed in a mishap at the same plant in 2017.
