Visakhapatnam: Two persons were electrocuted and one suffered burns in Chakivalasa, within the limits of Bhogapuram Police Station, in Vizianagaram district after coming in contact with a 440 V wire on Saturday night. The deceased have been identified as K. Paidamma, 53, a housewife, and her nephew Lanka Narayana Rao, 22, who worked as a field assistant. The injured person has been identified as L. Thotamma.
The incident occurred at around 11 pm on Saturday. As per reports, a wire had snapped due to the heavy rains and strong winds. Paidamma, who had gone to attend nature’s call in an open field, was electrocuted upon coming in contact with the wire. Her nephew Narayana Rao tried to come to her rescue was electrocuted as well. When the two didn’t return home for some time, Paidamma’s daughter Thotamma went in search of them. She too came in contact with the wire and suffered burn injuries.
U. Mahesh, the sub-inspector of Bhogapuram, said that the victims had not been able to see the wire due to low visibility in the dark, and so they had ended up stepping on it.
“Our preliminary investigation has revealed that there was no negligence on the part of Eastern Power Distribution Corporation Limited (EPDCL), as the wire snapped at around 10.30 pm because of the rain and wind, and the deaths were reported at 11 pm. EPDCL did not receive any call between 10.30 pm and 11 pm reporting the snapping of the wire,” he said. He added that the case would be investigated further, to confirm that the incident had not been caused by negligence.
The police have registered a case under Section 174 of the CrPC. The bodies of the deceased have been handed over to their relatives after the completion of post-mortems.
