Two workers were electrocuted and two others suffered severe burn injuries when the crane they were carrying came in contact with a high tension electric wire near Bamphakuda on National Highway under the Cuttack Sadar police station on Tuesday afternoon. Police said the two workers of a private construction company died on the spot while two others were shifted to the SCB Medical College Hospital in critical condition. “Although the deceased workers belonged to Jagatsinghpur district, their identifications were not ascertained yet,” said Sadar police station Inspector Debadutta Kar.
Police said the workers were shifting the crane from one place to another when the upper portion of it came in contact with a snapped 11-KV live electric wire around 1.30 pm. The conditions of the injured were stated to be critical. Soon after the mishap, irate locals staged a road blockade alleging that the incident took place due to the callous attitude of the Energy Department. They pointed out that they had been complaining repeatedly to the department about the snapped wire, which was passing through at a dangerously low height.