Lahore:
Four workers died on site after being electrocuted while installing a sign on a store’s roof terrace in Shahdara.
The incident took place in the early hours on Wednesday on Daulat Khan Road as the workers tried to install the advertising board on the roof.
According to rescuers, one of the workers accidentally touched an electrical wire, causing power to flow through metal signs and electrocuting all four men.
Three of the deceased were identified as 45-year-old Nadeem, 25-year-old Nouman and 26-year-old Muhammad Awais Haider. The fourth victim, aged about 25 years, could not be identified until the evening.
“Upon arrival at the stage, our teams found that all four people had already succumbed to electrocution,” said a rescue 1122 official.
“The bodies were moved to Mayo Hospital Mortuary for legal formalities,” he added.
According to the police report prepared by Asi Ghulam Hussain from Shahdara Police Station, workers tried to install two advertising boards measuring approx. 17 meters in length and 13 meters in width. The incident took place when the large sign came into contact with an 11,000 kv main transmission line while he was raised on the roof.
The police report shows that the workers had brought the signs of Karim Market the same evening and tried to install them in the dark without proper coordination with Lahore Electric Supply Company or obtain necessary permissions from Parks and Horticulture Authority and Metropolitan Corporation Lahore.
Authorities expelled a view spread on social media that the electrocution had happened while store owners removed signage to avoid action.
“This accident has no relation to PERA power surgeries,” states a clarification that refers to Punjab enforcement and regulatory authority. “The shop owner and workers did not remove signage, but installed two new advertising boards without permits in the dark at night.”
The bodies of the identified victims were handed over to their families after the end of legal formalities.
Police said they continued investigation into the circumstances that had led to the incident.
Local authorities urged shop owners and contractors to secure security measures and obtain necessary approvals before installing signage, especially in areas with fixed electrical supply lines.
Meanwhile, a roof of a house was collapsed under construction near Bedian Road, resulting in the loss of two lives, leaving a person seriously injured.
