A 66-year-old daily wage worker was electrocuted after an 11-kV overhead cable fell on him at a bus stop near the Thirunindravur flyover on Saturday morning, exposing the immediate danger posed by live power lines in public spaces during the rainy season.
Police identified the victim as Kannaiyan, a native of Mannargudi in Tiruvarur district. He had worked for the past two years at a masala manufacturing unit near Thirunindravur and earned around Rs 20,000 a month. He lived in Nazarathpet and travelled to work by bus each day.
According to the police, Kannaiyan was standing near a police booth at about 8.30 am with an umbrella when the high-tension wire came down on his leg. He suffered a severe electric shock and collapsed at the bus stop. Onlookers alerted the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and the police, but could not approach him until the power supply was disconnected.
TANGEDCO officials said a pin insulator failure caused the line to become displaced. The wire then struck the concrete edge of a railway bridge before falling to the ground, according to the officials. The incident occurred near a location used by commuters, bringing the live cable into direct contact with an area where people wait for public transport.
The sequence highlights the risk created when overhead electricity infrastructure fails near roads, bus stops and other high-footfall public spaces. In this case, the power supply had to be tripped before bystanders could safely reach the victim. The source report did not specify how long the line had been damaged before it fell or whether any earlier complaint about the equipment had been recorded.
Kannaiyan’s son, Vijay, alleged negligence and said poles and related equipment should have been checked before the rains. “They should have checked poles before rain. Children use this stop. Action must be taken,” he said. The allegation has not been independently established in the available report.
Thirunindravur police registered a case, while Kannaiyan’s body was sent to Tiruvallur Government Hospital for post-mortem examination. He is survived by a son and daughter. The death is the second reported fatality in the Chennai region this year linked to a snapped live line; a guest worker died in Puzhal in April after a high-tension power line fell on him. The police investigation and the post-mortem process are now expected to establish the circumstances surrounding the latest death.
