Two of the five workers repairing it were rushed to hospital with 40 per cent burns. A laundry and a barber shop, and a motorcycle parked close to it, were also burnt.
The metering unit of an electricity transformer, situated just about 10 m from Gate No 3 of ATS Advantage, in Ahinsa Khand 1, Indirapuram, blew up this evening around 5 pm. Of the five workers carrying out repairs on it, two were seriously injured and are now undergoing treatment at Fortis Hospital, Noida.
It was a CT/PT (current transformer/potential transformer) transformer unit from UPPCL and the explosion occurred while the workers were trying to repair the meter box installed above it.
The two victims, identified as Pramod Kumar Sharma, a junior meter tester, and Jagmohan Kumar, a lineman, suffered 40 per cent burns from the boiling-hot oil that poured out the transformer following the explosion, and had to be rushed to Shanti Gopal Hospital in Ahinsa Khand 2. However, they were immediately referred to Fortis Hospital, Noida.
"The explosion was caused by the increased load from multiple electrical appliances being used at the same time, thanks to the heat these days," said BS Raghav, executive engineer of UPPCL.
The blaze was extinguished by a firefighting unit, which was thankfully in the vicinity. “A laundry and a barber shop close to transformer were also burnt -- so was a motorcycle parked nearby,” said Somdath Sonkar, the the Vaishali fire station officer.
On being contacted, a doctor from Fortis Hospital said, "I cannot tell you much about the condition of the patients now. Their burns are being treated here at the emergency ward."
