A mother and her 18-year-old son died after electricity is suspected to have entered a clothes-drying wire at their home in Varnabettu, within the Paladka gram panchayat limits of Moodabidri taluk in Dakshina Kannada, on Thursday, according to Prajavani. The deaths have prompted an investigation by police and officials of the Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (MESCOM).
The deceased have been identified as 45-year-old Mercy Maskarenas and her son, Sean Maskarenas. Sean was a pre-university student at Carmel College in Moodabidri, the report said.
According to the report, Sean first received an electric shock when he approached the wire to hang clothes for drying. He reportedly cried out, after which his mother rushed to his aid and also came into contact with the electrified wire. Both died at the spot.
The wire had reportedly been tied at one end to the iron portion of a sheet on the roof of the house. A household electrical wire running nearby may have broken or come into contact with the clothes-drying wire, allowing electricity to flow through it, the report said. This remains a suspicion and has not been established as the confirmed cause of the deaths.
The bodies were discovered when a domestic worker arrived at the house in the morning, according to the report. Residents reached the location after news of the incident spread through the village.
The incident highlights the immediate safety risks that can arise when household utility lines, metal roofing components and makeshift wires are located close to one another. A wire or metal object that appears to be used for a routine domestic purpose can become dangerous if it comes into contact with a damaged or live electrical line. The circumstances of the contact, the condition of the wiring and responsibility for any fault will be determined through the official investigation.
Police and MESCOM officials visited the site after being informed of the deaths. The authorities are investigating how electricity may have reached the clothes-drying wire and the sequence of events leading to the fatal shock. No final finding on the cause was available in the report.
