Accidents: Two electrocuted; house gutted

Students shouted slogans against the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) and blamed them for the deaths.


Our Correspondent September 10, 2012

ABBOTABAD:


Two students were electrocuted and a house was gutted in a fire in different incidents in Abbottabad between Sunday night and Monday evening.


Police said that Salim, a student from Gilgit who recently passed his Secondary School Certificate examination, died after accidently touching a high-tension electricity wire on the roof of his two-story private hostel at Nari Road. Police said he was talking to his family at the time of the accident.

In a staggeringly similar incident, another student was electrocuted after he accidently touched a high-tension electricity wire on the roof of his four-story private hostel, also situated on Nari Road. Eyewitnesses said that he too was talking to his family on the phone at the time of the accident.

Their deaths prompted their fellow students to take to the streets. They shouted slogans against the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) and blamed them for the deaths. They said they had repeatedly told the power company to adjust the low-lying electricity cables higher so as to avoid any untoward incident.

Meanwhile, a house was gutted in a fire caused by short-circuiting in Bagh village on Sunday evening, rendering loss of over Rs1 million to the owner. The house owner, Fareedon Khan, said that he was out with his family to attend a marriage ceremony in the neighbouring village. At around 1am, he saw flames emerging from his house. By the time the villagers put out the fire, the house was burnt to ashes.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2012.

COMMENTS (1)

Azi | 11 years ago | Reply

He touches a wire while talking? I mean what else does it take to educate people if the most basic things about avoiding hazardous materials are tough in even secondary school. Really un-uecessary deaths due to pure absent mindedness. I hope his family can go through this tragic period peacefully.

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