The death of 23-year-old Soundarya and her nine-month-old baby, after stepping on a live electric wire near Hope Farm on Sunday early morning, has left citizens with multiple questions and concerns about electricity safety in the city. A day after the accident, officials of Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) shed some light on the factors that led to the accident.
The deaths occurred owing to the snapping of the conductor in the morning. “The snapped line was carrying power to an apartment about 150 metres away from the accident spot. Around 3.50 a.m., the connection tripped in the load-break switch (LBS) installed at the apartment owing to the entry of a rat. Three fuses installed near the apartment went off after that. Shortly after that, the live wire must have broken down,” said T. Shanthamallappa, General Manager, Quality, Safety and Standard, Bescom.
He continued: “At 3.50 a.m., there was a trip at the sub-station and hence, as per routine, they did a test charge after five minutes and the power held, and this wire was charged. Around 5.25 a.m., someone from the apartment called about the power outage and our team went to inspect. That is when they realised there was some problem and were on their way to check the line before which the accident occurred.”
