Two girls suffer electric shock in waterlogged Nerul stretch

The incident took place around 12.30 pm when Shubhangi Subhash Balkhande, 17, and Ujwala Laxman Wagh, 19, students of People’s College in Belapur, were crossing the waterlogged road

NAVI MUMBAI: Two teenage girls suffered electric shocks while wading through a waterlogged stretch beneath the LP Bridge on the Sion-Panvel Highway in Nerul on Wednesday afternoon after a damaged underground streetlight cable allegedly electrified the accumulated rainwater. Both the students are stable, police said.

Two girls suffer electric shock in waterlogged Nerul stretch

The incident took place around 12.30 pm when Shubhangi Subhash Balkhande, 17, and Ujwala Laxman Wagh, 19, class 12 students of People’s College in Belapur, were crossing the waterlogged road. They were rushed to a nearby hospital after receiving electric shocks.

A preliminary inspection by Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) found that the insulation of an outgoing cable supplying power to streetlights beneath the bridge had been damaged.

The utility said the exposed cable likely came into contact with rainwater, energising the flooded stretch. It added that the streetlight connection and cable are maintained by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

Power supply to the affected cable was immediately disconnected and the area was made safe. The civic body’s electrical department will carry out a detailed technical inspection.

“The girls have been kept under observation for the next 24 hours. The exact source of the electric current and the circumstances that led to the incident will be ascertained in consultation with MSEDCL,” she said.