KSEB removes power line that caused death of student at Thevalakkara school

KOLLAM: The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has removed the low-lying power line near Thevalakkara Boys Higher Secondary School that led to the tragic death of Mithun, a Class 8 student. KSEB officials arrived at the spot and carried out the removal of the line located close to the school premises. The decision to remove the line was made during a meeting held yesterday under the leadership of the Chairperson of the Child Rights Commission, and action was taken immediately afterwards.

Mithun died after receiving an electric shock from a three-phase power line while attempting to retrieve a footwear that had fallen onto the roof of the school’s tin-sheet-covered bicycle shed. Mithun was in the classroom playing with his friends when a classmate's slipper fell onto the roof of the shed. In an attempt to retrieve it, he stacked a chair on a desk, climbed up, and squeezed through the space between the wall and the roof sheets to access the shed. While walking toward the slipper, he slipped and fell onto the low-tension three-phase electric line, resulting in a fatal electric shock.

Hearing the screams of the other students, the school’s physical education teacher rushed to the scene. He climbed onto the shed after dismantling some of the roofing sheets and tried to rescue Mithun using a wooden plank, but was unsuccessful. With the help of other teachers, they eventually used a bench to separate Mithun from the wire. Although there were no visible burn injuries, he was declared dead shortly after being taken to Sasthamcotta Taluk Hospital.