The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Snapped power cables claim two lives in Medavakkam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 06, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Snapped power cables claim two lives in Medavakkam

Staff Reporter

Mother's attempt to rescue daughter ends in tragedy Mother's attempt to rescue daughter ends in tragedy

DEADLY DIVIDER: The wire fence on which the cables fell. — Photo: K. Manikandan

TAMBARAM: : A 34-year-old woman and her mother were electrocuted at Abhinandan Nagar, Nanmangalam, near Medavakkam on Wednesday.

Karpagam, wife of Ravi, was drawing water from a hand pump around 6.30 a.m., when she touched the barbed wire fence plot on which overhead electric cables had fallen. . Hearing her cries, her mother, Rajalakshmi, 60, rushed to her and tried to pull her away and was also electrocuted. The two women died instantly.

Under investigation

Ravi is a collection agent with a private cell phone operator and the family had built the house only about a year ago.

Though the exact cause of the snapping of the overhead power cables is still being investigated, officials of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board suspect that it could have been caused by a fallen tree or by a water tanker colliding with the electric posts.

Residents of the locality said this was not the first instance of snapping of cables, recalling similar incidents at least three times in the past. However, this was the first time somebody had been electrocuted.

TNEB officials, who arrived at the spot, to repair the cables, said the cables today were five years old; the average life of such cables was 15 years.

About three weeks ago, two people died at Pattu Mangadu and Kunrathur due to snapping of overhead power cables.

The increasing number of fatalities because of people coming into contact with live power cables has put the TNEB on the defensive. Officials denied there was any negligence on their part and said they responded to problems immediately.

However a section of residents at the accident spot in Nanmangalam said lower level staff did not act fast on complaints.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu