Power outage in Thiruvananthapuram's Pettah after transformer explosion, two vehicles gutted in fire

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A transformer near Pettah Police Station at the Pallimukku-Kannamoola road caught fire after a loud explosion on Tuesday around 11 pm. The preliminary conclusion is that a short circuit is the cause of the fire.

The fire from the transformer spread to two nearby cars. A car parked on the roadside and a car impounded by the police station were gutted. According to the residents in area, there was an intermittent power failure and sparks in the transformer on Tuesday. Following the power outage, the operations of institutions including ration shops were affected. Based on the complaint of the locals, an inspection was conducted under the leadership of the assistant engineer around 10 am.

But around 10 pm, smoke started rising from the transformer. KSEB was called but the authorities replied that there was no problem. But suddenly the transformer exploded with a loud bang and started burning. After hearing about the incident, the assistant engineer reached the spot but went back after the locals protested. Local residents blamed negligence on the part of KSEB officials for the fire. After the fire, the power supply in the area was disrupted.