In a tragic incident, a 29-year-old man was electrocuted when he tried in vain to rescue a dog that was caught in a wire fence and struggling for life.
Police said R. Karthik from Umayanvalasai, near here, was employed in a hallow block company at Thirupullani when he became friendly with a stray dog near the work site and fed the animal with biscuits everyday in the morning before starting work.
When he went for work on Thursday morning, he found the dog missing. After a brief search, he found the hapless dog caught in a wire fence and struggling for life. When he tried to rescue the canine, he suffered electric shock and fell unconscious.
Finding that Karthik had not turned up for work for long, his younger brother, Kalaiselvan, 26 who was also working in the unit, went in search and found him lying at the fence. When he tried to lift his brother, he too suffered electric shock. After he raised an alarm, the watchmen and fellow workers rushed to the site and found the siblings lying down and the dog dead.
After finding that a snapped live wire was touching the fence, the workers alerted Tamil Nadu General and Distribution Corporation staff. After the power supply was disconnected, the workers rescued the brothers and rushed them to the hospital.
Soon after they were admitted to Government Headquarters hospital here, Karthik succumbed while Kalaiselvan escaped with injuries, police said. Based on a complaint lodged by Kalaiselvan, Thirupullani police registered a case and investigating.
