Shimla, June 15 (IANS): Three engineers were killed on Sunday when a valve burst at a state-run hydroelectric plant in Himachal Pradesh's remote Spiti Valley, officials said.

The government set up a four-member committee headed by Chief Engineer (Projects) Naveen Kaushal to investigate the accident, it was announced on Monday.

Sanjay Kumar, Vijay Kumar and Danishsaise were killed while they were fixing the new turbine on Sunday night at the 2-MW Rongtong hydropower project plant near Kaza town, some 420 km from the state capital.

The victims were swept away by gushing waters when the main inlet valve - controlling water supply to the turbine - burst, official sources said.

Sanjay Kumar and Vijay Kumar were from the state electricity board, while Danishsaise was from M.M. Engineers, a private company in Delhi.

The hydroelectric plant, which is more than 20 years old, supplies electricity mainly to Kaza town. The plant was closed partially for over four years as most of the machinery was outdated. It was undergoing overhaul for the past few months.

The repair work was speeded up as Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was scheduled to visit the plant on June 19 for inspection.

The Himachal Pradesh Electricity Board has announced Rs.2 lakh compensation each to the families of the three killed.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh expressed grief over the accident.