A 66-year-old man was electrocuted after a live 11-kV overhead cable fell on him at a bus stop near the Thirunindravur flyover on Saturday morning, exposing the danger posed by damaged power infrastructure at a busy public location.
Police identified the victim as Kannaiyan, originally from Mannargudi in Tiruvarur district. He had worked for the last two years at a masala manufacturing unit near Thirunindravur and lived in Nazarathpet. He earned about Rs 20,000 a month and travelled to work by bus each day.
The incident occurred at around 8.30 am when Kannaiyan was standing near a police booth with an umbrella. Police said the high-tension wire came down directly on his leg, causing a severe electric shock and making him collapse. Onlookers alerted the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and the police, but they could not approach him until the power supply was tripped.
Officials from TANGEDCO said a pin insulator failure caused the line to become displaced. The cable then struck the concrete edge of the railway bridge before falling to the ground, according to the officials. The account places the failure at the intersection of overhead electricity infrastructure, a railway structure and a public transport waiting area.
Kannaiyan’s son, Vijay, 40, alleged negligence and said power poles should have been checked before the rain. “They should have checked poles before rain. Children use this stop. Action must be taken,” he said.
The victim is survived by a son and daughter. Thirunindravur police registered a case, and his body was sent to Tiruvallur Government Hospital for post-mortem examination.
The death is the second reported fatality in the Chennai region this year involving a snapped live power line, according to the report. In April, a guest worker died in Puzhal in a similar incident. The latest case has renewed immediate questions about the inspection and upkeep of overhead lines near roads, bus stops and other places used by pedestrians, although the police investigation and the TANGEDCO assessment will determine the circumstances and responsibility in this case.
The next steps are the post-mortem examination and the police investigation into the death. TANGEDCO’s stated finding is that the line was displaced after a pin insulator failed.
