A young animal lover was electrocuted while attempting to rescue a parrot in distress atop a tree in Sholinganallur.
The 18-year-old fell on a bunch of high-tension (HT) cables that were dangerously placed against a branch of the tree, and suffered a shock. He died on the way to the hospital.
Arun Kumar from Lal Bahadur Shastri Street in Sholinganallur was hanging out with his friends near Ponniammal Koil, on Tuesday evening, when he spotted the parrot atop a tree.
“The bird was being attacked by two crows. He climbed the tree to rescue it. All of a sudden, a weak branch he was standing on gave way and came crashing on the HT cables. The boy came in contact with the wires and was thrown away in the impact,” said a shopkeeper who witnessed the accident.
After the accident, Tangedco officials reached the spot and pruned the branches of the tree before rearranging the cables.
“The cables were passing through a tree. This is illegal. Trees are supposed to be pruned regularly so the branches do not come in contact with electric wires,” said a Tangedco official.
The teenager was rushed to a hospital by his friends but he died on the way.
“After autopsy, the body was handed over to Arun’s father, Jeevanandham, on Wednesday morning,” said M. Venkatesan, inspector, Semmencherry police,
Jeevanandham runs a shop in Sholinganallur that sells construction material and Kumar helped him out at work.
The Semmencherry police registered a case of unnatural death.
