COIMBATORE: A 74-year-old farmer was electrocuted after stepping on a snapped live wire, while another man who rushed to rescue him also lost his life in Palacode in the Dharmapuri district on Tuesday.
According to police, Munusamy (74) of Jakkasamuthiram village had gone to his farmland to feed the cattle. While walking through the farm in the evening, he unknowingly stepped on a live electric wire that had snapped and fallen to the ground. He was instantly electrocuted and collapsed.
Duraisamy (58), a resident of Pidamaneri who was working nearby, witnessed the incident and rushed to help. In the process, he too came into contact with the live wire and was thrown aside by the electric shock. They both died on the spot.
Passersby later noticed the bodies and alerted the victims’ families, officials of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), and the Mahendramangalam police.
Electricity department personnel subsequently disconnected the power supply and removed the snapped wire. Preliminary inquiries suggest that the line may have snapped due to strong winds and heavy rains that lashed the Palacode region over the past two days.
The bodies were then sent to the Dharmapuri Government Hospital for post-mortem. The Mahendramangalam police have registered a case, and further investigations are on.