Teacher killed by live wire while fixing flagpole in Odisha, 3 injured

A teacher of a private school died of electrocution, and three students were injured while trying to fix an iron pipe to hoist the national flag on Independence Day in Odisha's Balasore district on Saturday, police said.

The incident took place at Maitapur in Simulia block, they said.

The deceased was identified as Priyabrata Behera (26), a physical education teacher.

Police said Behera was carrying a long iron pipe to install it as a flagpole when he lost control of it and it came in contact with an overhead 11-kv power line.

The electric shock caused the pipe and Behera to fall, following which he was rushed to the Bhadrak district headquarters hospital, where doctors declared him dead, they said.

Three students who tried to rescue the teacher also suffered electric shocks and were admitted to Simulia hospital. They were discharged after receiving first aid, police said.

In another incident in the district, around eight schoolchildren and an auto-rickshaw driver were injured when the vehicle in which they were travelling overturned while they were on their way to attend an Independence Day programme.

The accident occurred at Sathi in Bahanaga block, police said.

Locals rescued the injured students and the driver and took them to Soro hospital. The driver was later shifted to the Balasore district headquarters hospital after his condition deteriorated, they said.