Ludhiana: Worker battling for life as transformer falls during installation

The workers were installing a new 300-kVA transformer as part of PSPCL’s plan to augment the existing power infrastructure in the area

A contractual worker was critically injured and a regular PSPCL employee suffered minor injuries after a power transformer fell on the two during installation in Haibowal’s Laxmi Nagar on Tuesday evening. The accident also disrupted power supply in the locality, with restoration expected to take more than six hours.

The accident also disrupted power supply in the locality, with restoration expected to take more than six hours. (HT Photo)

The workers were installing a new 300-kVA transformer as part of PSPCL’s plan to augment the existing power infrastructure in the area. They were using a crane to hoist the transformer onto newly installed poles when it suddenly fell moments after being positioned, trapping the two workers underneath.

The critically injured contractual worker was rushed to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMC), while Gurmeet Singh, the regular PSPCL CHB employee, sustained minor injuries and was discharged from hospital after receiving treatment.

The augmentation work had begun on Monday with the installation of electricity poles. During excavation, workers accidentally damaged an approximately eight-inch municipal corporation water pipeline, causing water to gush onto the road.

Civic body officials reached the spot and halted the work, while the damaged pipeline was repaired later that night. The work resumed on Tuesday evening, when the transformer was being installed. Officials said the exact circumstances that caused it to fall were being investigated.

Senior PSPCL officials, including the additional superintending engineer of Aggar Nagar Division and the SDO of Unit-2, reached the site after the accident and took stock of the situation.