Kendujhar: A routine operation to drain floodwater turned tragic in Odisha’s Kendujhar on Wednesday when a young firefighter died after accidentally touching a live wire while on duty.
The deceased has been identified as Chandan Patnaik, who had joined the Odisha Fire Services just a year ago.
Heavy rainfall over two days inundated several homes, roads, and public areas across Kendujhar Municipality, prompting authorities to deploy multiple teams from the municipality and the Odisha Fire Services. Ten teams were pressed into service from Tuesday to tackle the waterlogging.
On Wednesday morning, two teams were working in the vicinity of the Government Girls’ High School under the Town Police limits — one clearing water near the local Police Club and the other pumping out accumulated rainwater from a nearby residential house. While laying a suction pipe inside the flooded premises, Patnaik, who was standing in knee-deep water, came into contact with a galvanized iron (GI) wire that the homeowner had put up across the courtyard to dry clothes. The wire had become energised after touching a live electrical connection, delivering a severe shock that caused him to collapse into the water. His colleagues immediately pulled him out using a plastic pipe to avoid further contact with the live wire and rushed him to Kendujhar District Headquarters Hospital, about 200 metres away. However, doctors declared him brought dead upon arrival.
District Fire Officer Krushna Chandra Samal, who was present at the scene described the sequence of events. “Water had flooded the entire area, submerging homes and surroundings. While our team was engaged in dewatering operations near the Fire Station side, a live wire caused an electrocution. As he was placing the pipe to pump water out, his hand caught the live wire submerged in water and he immediately fell into the water.”
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed deep grief over the incident and extended heartfelt condolences to Patnaik’s family. He paid tribute to the firefighter’s dedication and sacrifice while serving in the line of duty.
Meanwhile, police have reached the spot and launched an investigation to determine how the clothesline wire became electrified.
