KHAKASIA, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - The official death toll from an accident four days ago at Russia's largest hydropower plant in south Siberia reached 17 on Thursday, with another 58 people still unaccounted for, rescuers said on Thursday.
The latest two bodies were found in the Sayano-Shushenskaya plant's ninth generating unit, a spokesperson for the rescue team said.
The search for the missing people is continuing, and water is being continually pumped out of the turbine room which was flooded early on Monday morning after an explosion, but the chances of finding anyone else alive are now believed to be very low.
The shutdown of the plant on the Yenisei River in the Khakasia Republic, built in 1978, has caused a severe energy shortfall in the region, forcing local factories to turn to temporary supplies. The blast also released a large slick of insulating oil from the plant's transformers, threatening the river's fish.
RusHydro, the plant's owner, has said the damage could take up to two years to repair, and Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko estimated the cost at at least 40 billion rubles ($1.2 billion).
The victims' families have threatened to sue RusHydro over the accident, accusing it of putting profits ahead of safety in failing to update and replace ageing equipment, and have demanded extra compensation.
The relatives met with Khakasia Governor Viktor Zimin on Thursday, and demanded that the offered compensation of 1 million rubles ($31,000) be raised tenfold.
Services were held in churches throughout the republic on Wednesday in memory of the victims.
