At least 3 woodcutters were killed and 2 others suffered serious injuries, when they came in contact with a high-tension electricity wire which fell on them.
At least 3 woodcutters were killed and 2 others suffered serious injuries, when they came in contact with a high-tension electricity wire which fell on them at Bopparajupalem village, Narayanavanam mandal, in Chittoor district.
According to Sub-Inspector Mallikarjun Rao, Subramanyam (50), Chukkal Kailasam (52) and Bhoomreddy (50) - residents of Alchimista village, Narayanavanam mandal in Chittoor district - died on the spot after the branches of a banyan tree fell on the high-tension wire, snapping it. The wire then fell on the 3 woodcutters.
A timber merchant, Bujaiah, had engaged the 4 woodcutters to chop down the banyan tree at Lakshipuram near Bopparajupalem.
Early on Wednesday morning, Bujaiah, along with the workers, reached the spot and started to cut it. The branches fell on the 11 KV power line close to the tree.
The incident left the 3 woodcutters dead on the spot and the other 2 with serious injuries.
Police shifted the victims to hospital in 108 ambulances. According to Mallikarju Rao, Bujjaiah is in a critical condition, and has been shifted to a hospital in Tirupati. The other injured woodcutter, Mani, is stable and is undergoing treatment at a local hospital.
Police registered a case and took up further investigations.