Duo electrocuted as wind snaps live wire in Kovai

According to police, Chinnapparaj, 63, a painter from Kaliapuram near Sulur, was residing with his first wife Masani, 58, in a tile-roofed house. The couple is childless while the painter’s second wife, who lives separately, has two children. Around 6.30am, Chinnapparaj tried to tie an iron wire to dry clothes in his house. Unfornately, a live overhead wire, which had snapped in gusty winds that pounded Coimbatore on Saturday night, was in contact with the house. 

“Chinnapparaj was tying the wire when he was electrocuted. Hearing his loud cries, Masani rushed to his help. However, she too suffered an electric shock. The couple died on the spot,” police said. 

The Sulur police have registered a case and further inquiries are under way. 

Heavy rains have already claimed the lives of at least two women over the last few days. Eighty-year-old Chellammal, a daily wager from Negamam near Pollachi, and another woman in Tirupur district had died after their houses collapsed. 

S Panneerselvam, professor and head of Agro Climate Research Centre at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) said that the sky would remain cloudy and rains may continue for two more days.  “This time, Coimbatore has received surplus summer rains. While the average during March, April and May is 133mm, the district has so far received about 150mm. Widespread rains are expected for two more days in Coimbatore, Nilgiris and Erode districts,” he said.