WATCH: 85-Metre-Tall Cooling Tower Demolished Within Seconds By Controlled Explosion In Gujarat's Surat

Surat: The authorities in Gujarat’s Surat demolished a 30-year-old cooling tower of a power station through a controlled explosion on Tuesday. A video of the demolition, which became viral on social media, showed the 85-metre-tall RCC cooling tower coming down like a pack of cards within a few seconds. 

According to the power station authorities, the 72-metre diameter of the gas-based Utran Power Station was brought down at around 11:10 am.

WATCH: UTRAN POWER STATION COOLING TOWER BLAST DEMOLITION

262.5 Kg Of Commercial Explosives Used

An official said 262.5 kg of commercial explosives were used for demolition. Earlier, the official had said that 220 kg of explosives were used but later added that the actual quantity used was 262.5 kg. As a precautionary measure, the area around the power station, which is situated on the banks of the Tapi river, was barricaded to keep people around 250-300 metres away from the tower.

The official said explosives were set up after drilling the column and the help of experts was taken. "The tower was part of the 135-MW power plant of the Gujarat State Electricity Corporation and was used for cooling purposes. It was 85 metres in height, with a bottom diameter of 72 metres," said in-charge additional chief engineer, RR Patel.

He said the other plant of 375 MW capacity in the gas-based power plant is up and running. The razing of the tower, constructed in 1993, became necessary owing to techno-commercial reasons and the approval of the Central Electricity Authority was taken in 2017. In September 2021, the demolition process began, and the boiler, generator, turbine, and transformer were razed, said Patel.