Bengaluru college student suffers 35% burns after live electric wire falls on her

A 21-year-old student from Christ University in Bengaluru suffered 35% burns when a live electric wire accidentally fell on her around 2 pm on Tuesday, August 22. The accident took place in Suddaguntepalya in southeast Bengaluru, near the Central campus of Christ University. The student has been identified as Priya Garg, who was pursuing her undergraduate degree.

The incident took place when a water tanker passing by got entangled with an optical fibre cable that was hanging from an electric pole. The driver of the tanker, unaware of the entanglement, continued driving, and the tanker brought down the pole. Another vehicle worsened the situation by pulling the pole even further, leading to the cables snapping and sparking a fire that injured the student. Priya was rushed to a private hospital nearby and was then admitted to St John's Hospital in Koramangala. Her condition is now stable.

According to TV9 and Deccan Herald, Priya was walking back to her paying guest accommodation during her lunch break along with her friends when the live electric wire unexpectedly fell on her. The electric pole also toppled onto a scooter parked by the roadside. Police have detained the water tanker driver and have filed an FIR under Section 279 (reckless driving) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 187 of the Motor Vehicles Act.

In a similar incident that occurred on August 19 in Bengaluru, a 23-year-old man named Kevin Varghese from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, sustained severe injuries after an electric pole fell onto him. The optical fibre cables suspended from the cable had gotten tangled with a passing truck. The incident occurred on Kariyammana Agrahara Main Road, in proximity to Devarabeesanahalli. The dangling cables were the property of Tata and Reliance Jio telecom companies, and HAL Airport traffic police booked the wire in-charge officers at these companies for the incident, Deccan Herald reported.