EB junction box blast kills woman

J Leema Rose, a widow who lived alone in a rented premise at Ilango Adigal Street in Choolaimedu, was a housekeeping staff at a private college in Arumbakkam. Her son, said to be mentally disturbed, lived in their hometown in Tirunelveli.

“She was walking towards her house while talking on the phone regarding her son’s job when the junction box at the street corner suddenly burst,” said her neighbour Aruna who witnessed it. “Initially, there was fire and then smoke started billowing from the box. We could hear her cries for help. When we managed to spot her, had been burnt her nightie up to chest,” she said.

Neighbours rushed to her rescue and covered her with a bedsheet. Leema was able to speak and sat in front of the shop till the ambulance arrived, she said. However, having suffered about 80 per cent burns, she succumbed on Sunday morning. As she has no relatives in the city, her son Lawrence was informed. The body was handed over to him after the post-mortem examination at Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital.

Soon after the accident, power supply to the area was briefly suspended. Tangedco staff inspected the accident spot on Sunday morning, and removed and replaced the burnt cables. The Choolaimedu police have registered a case and sought an explanation from the Tangedco officials regarding the accident.

When contacted, Tangedco officials said they were probing how the bursting of the junction box could have led to the fatal accident. “ For now, it is clear from the autopsy report that it was not electrocution,” said a Tangedco official.

However, residents of the locality complained the junction boxes in the locality frequently burst, though this was the first time that it has cost a life. “The underground cables are not properly buried and are visible on the surface. There is primary school nearby and there are a lot of children in the neighbourhood. Tangedco should not play with our lives,” said Leema’s neighbour.