Storm turns fatal: 2 teen workers electrocuted in south Delhi as tree branch brings down live wire

NEW DELHI: Two boys were electrocuted and a man narrowly escaped after the branch of a tree collapsed on a roadside dhaba in south Delhi's Bhikaji Cama Place on Sunday morning in the middle of rain and a thunderstorm.The deceased, Arvind alias Ravinder (17) and Bharat (16), were from Bihar.Police said they got a PCR call at RK Puram police station at 4.29 am regarding an incident near an MCD kiosk on Vivekanand Marg. “Officers reached the spot, where Sunil (45), who runs a dhaba in the MCD kiosk, told them that his two employees, Ravinder and Bharat, were sleeping outside the kiosk during the night when, during heavy rain and strong winds, a part of a tree fell on the kiosk, damaging an electric wire and leading to a live current near the premises. Both employees, along with a stray dog, came in contact with the current and lost consciousness,” a senior police officer said.The boys were taken to a hospital. Both were unresponsive and were declared dead.Ramu, another helper who was sleeping outside the dhaba, told TOI, “It was raining heavily at night and the winds were strong. Like always, all three of us, me, Ravinder and Bharat were sleeping outside. I woke up when I felt a mild electric current. That’s when I saw a tree branch had fallen.”“A stray dog nearby suddenly started shaking and collapsed. As I got up to alert them, another branch came down and damaged an electric wire. Because of the rainwater on the ground, the current spread quickly. The wire fell close to where Ravinder and Bharat were lying. They came in contact with the current and couldn’t move.... I called their names, but they were unresponsive,” Ramu said.TOI found multiple fallen branches entangled with power lines in the area, as well as stagnant water around exposed wiring close to the accident site.Pruning and maintenance of trees is lacking in several areas. Near the Bhikaji Cama Place fire station, a tea stall vendor was seen clearing fallen branches that had dragged down a live wire into a waterlogged stretch. “Even light rain floods this area. Now with wires hanging so low, I had to remove the branches myself so no one gets hurt,” he said.A car mechanic near the dhaba said: “No one prunes trees.... Without regular upkeep, accidents like this will keep happening.”The boys had travelled from Bihar’s Madhubani and Begusarai to Delhi to support their families. Their families said they had no idea the two were sleeping outdoors every night.Outside the AIIMS trauma centre gate, Bharat’s mother, Laxmi, sat quietly with other grieving family members. Holding back tears, she said, “I work as a house help in Lodhi Colony and couldn’t support him much in his studies. He started working from a young age so he could save money for my treatment. He was contributing a lot towards my health. I believed that he was working at a hotel and had a proper place to sleep. He never spoke much about his job. He would just send me money and tell me not to worry.”Arvind’s cousin, Prem, said: “Arvind came to Delhi when he was very young, hoping he could earn better here. Our family thought he was working in a hotel and had a room to stay in.”“We all sleep right outside the dhaba because our salaries aren’t enough to afford rooms on rent in this area and any other area would be too far,” another worker said.