STAY SAFE AROUND FALLEN POWERLINES

Fourteen persons were killed and four seriously injured when they came in contact with a high-voltage supply wire in eastern Indian state of Bihar early this week.

Eyewitnesses said a truck carrying five cattle heads skidded and rolled into a ditch past midnight on the outskirts of a village in Patna district of the state.

The truck, as it rolled down the ditch hit an electric pole and 11,000 kilovolts high-tension wire fell by the road side.

Two persons and the five animals died in the accident. This was not the end of the tragic story. Next morning when villagers from a nearby village reached the site to rescue the victims, they were caught unawares and electrocuted by the high-tension wire.

Such tragic incidents are not uncommon and at times claim several lives. Most of the times it is our sheer ignorance.
Electricity always seeks the easiest path to the ground. It tries to find a conductor, such as metal, wood, water -- or the human body, which is 70% water.

Electricity does strange things to the human body. It contracts muscles, and frequently the person who comes into contact with a live conductor cannot release their grip.

It burns, destroys tissue and muscle mass, and frequently causes ventricular fibrillation, a condition where the electrical impulses of the heart are interrupted and overpowered, so the heart will not beat properly. The muscles controlling the respiratory system may fail. In many cases, death follows shortly after electrical shock.

Power lines are not insulated. So if one comes in contact with equipment that is in contact with a power line or the power line itself, electricity will instantly pass through you, causing a harmful -- or fatal -- shock.

Before you approach any person affected by a power line anticipate potential safety problems.

Consider all overhead lines to be energised, no matter what they look like. There is always a hazard zone around power lines and stay outside it. Have lines barricaded or temporarily de-energized, if possible. Continually warn others about power lines and other electrical hazards.