Flood Fury / Five Fire Services Personnel Injured as Rescue Boat Hits 11-KV Wire in Baleshwar Floods

Baleshwar, Sep 26: As many as Five Fire Services were injured after their rescue boat came in contact with an 11-KV electricity wire while they were returning from a flood rescue operation in Baleshwar city on Friday, a source said.

The incident occurred near Darji Pokhari, where the team had entered a waterlogged area to rescue four people stranded amid floodwaters.

The rescuers successfully brought all four people to safety. However, while returning from the area in a power boat, the vessel reportedly came in contact with an overhead 11-KV electricity wire, leaving five personnel injured in an electric shock, the source added.

All five injured personnel were rushed to the Baleshwar District Headquarters Hospital for treatment. Their condition was reported to be stable.

Rescuers Came In Contact With Overhead Wire
Baleshwar Assistant Fire Officer Tikendra Singh said the rescue team comprised four Fire Services personnel and two Civil Defence personnel.

“We went inside Darji Pokhari for a rescue mission due to waterlogging and floods. We were four of a team and two more personnel were from Civil Defence. We rescued four people from floods,” Singh said.

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According to Singh, the boat swayed in the floodwaters while the team was returning, prompting the personnel to increase its speed. They then noticed an 11-KV electricity wire hanging around 1–2 metres above the boat.

“Suddenly we saw that an 11-KV electric wire was just 1–2 metres above us and we collided with the wire and got injured,” he said.

Singh added that the four rescued people were unharmed in the incident.

The incident has raised concerns over the presence of overhead power lines in flooded areas, particularly during rescue operations involving boats.