In a tragic incident, two workers from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) were electrocuted to death in Chennai on Wednesday. The incident took place in the city’s Sowcarpet area. The workers were attending to repair work in the area when they climbed the transformer. 

According to the police, Vincent, aged 40 and Surya, aged 45 had come to tend to repairs on Avudai Naicken Street in Kothawal Chavadi. A power outage had been reported in the area following the rains the city witnessed on Tuesday evening and early on Wednesday. 

They had climbed the transformer and were working on it when an unexpected electric shock knocked Vincent to the ground. Surya, who was also killed instantly, got stuck on the transformer.

Visuals from the area showed that the men had not been given safety gear. Fire and rescue personnel from the station in High Court area arrived on the scene and were seen tying Surya’s body to a harness in order to bring it down by ladder.

With fire and rescue personnel rushing to the spot, the bodies of both men were sent to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for post mortem.

Police are investigating how the transformer, that had reportedly been turned off for repair, had sparked the electrocution.