Kendujhar: A regular mission to remove floodwater turned fatal in Kendujhar, Odisha, on Wednesday when a young firefighter lost his life after inadvertently touching a live electrical wire while on duty.

The victim has been identified as Chandan Patnaik, who had only recently joined the Odisha Fire Services a year ago.

Following two days of heavy rainfall that caused significant flooding in several homes, roads, and public spaces throughout Kendujhar Municipality, officials mobilized multiple teams from both the municipality and the Odisha Fire Services. Starting Tuesday, ten teams were deployed to address the waterlogging issue.

On Wednesday morning, two teams were operating near the Government Girls’ High School within the Town Police jurisdiction—one team was draining water near the local Police Club, while the other was pumping out water from a nearby flooded home. During this process, Patnaik, who was standing in knee-deep water, inadvertently made contact with a galvanized iron (GI) wire strung up by the homeowner for drying clothes. This wire had become electrified after contacting a live electrical source, delivering a fatal shock that caused him to collapse into the flooded area. His colleagues quickly rescued him using a plastic pipe to avoid further contact with the live wire and rushed him to Kendujhar District Headquarters Hospital, located approximately 200 meters away. Unfortunately, medical personnel pronounced him dead upon arrival.

District Fire Officer Krushna Chandra Samal, who witnessed the incident, recounted the tragic events. “The entire area was underwater, submerging homes and surroundings. While our team was engaged in dewatering operations near the Fire Station, a live wire caused an electrocution. As he was positioning the pipe to pump water, his hand came into contact with the live wire submerged in water, leading to his immediate fall into the water.”

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed profound sorrow regarding the incident and conveyed heartfelt condolences to Patnaik’s family, honoring the firefighter’s commitment and sacrifice in the line of duty.

In the meantime, authorities have arrived at the scene and initiated an investigation to uncover the circumstances surrounding how the clothesline wire became electrified.