Uninsulated live cable on unlit expressway causes mayhem
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will in future, inspect all high tension cables crossing expressways, in view of the recent incident when a high voltage cable fell on the Southern expressway last Sunday night, causing severe damage to vehicles in the path of the falling cable.
The non- insulated, BiyagamaPannipitiya high tension line transmitting 220,000 V, collapsed between Kadawatha and Kaduwela on the expressway. It was originally built during the Mahaweli Development project between 1983 and 1984, which was later elevated to build the expressway a few years ago, the CEB said.
The incident resulted in the closure of the Southern expressway from 8.53 pm to 10.21 pm on Sunday and from 12.30 pm to 5 pm the following day, while many areas were affected due to the power outage.
M. Gunawardana (49) was returning to his home in Ja-Ela in his small Mitsubishi minicab lorry from Matara, with his wife. He entered the Southern expressway at Kokmaduwa, intending to exit from Kadawatha, a journey that would take less than 2 hours at his usual speed of 50- 60 kmph.
Around 8 pm and 8.15 pm, at a place between Kaduwela and Kadawatha, 14.7 km from Kottawa, there was a bright blue flash, followed by a thud on the roof of his vehicle. The minicab lorry was soon swinging from side to side in jerks on the expressway. Completely baffled by the incident, Mr Gunawardana, with the greatest difficulty, stopped the swaying vehicle by applying the brakes and hand brakes. Then another vehicle on the other side of the road hit the high tension cable, he said. At once he understood the danger his wife and he were in, with his vehicle entangled in a high tension cable, and una- ble to move it, while they could not get out of the vehicle for fear of being electrocuted. He hurriedly dialled the expressway h o t l i n e, but , a c c o rding to Mr Gunawardana, it was busy at that time. He lowered the shutters of his lorry and hailed passing vehicles for help.
“A man came and opened the door of my vehicle and told me to jump out, while keeping both legs together on the ground,so as not to be earthed. I followed his instructions and got off but, my wife could not, as her legs were benumbed with fear,” Mr Gunawardana explained.
He was frantically trying to send his wife to the nearest hospital, and was able to do so after an ambulance reached the place about 30 minutes later.
Lahiru Perera ( 26) and Roger Marcus ( 35) were also victims of the incident. Lahiru claimed that, about Rs 100,000 worth of damage had been caused to his vehicle, while Roger claimed that the windscreen, side mirrors, headlights, roof and body of his van were severely damaged. Roger was transporting two ladies and three kids less than 4-years-old, in his vehicle, when the accident occurred. Minor damage was also reported to a few other vehicles.
Victims of the incident were very unhappy the way CEB and Expressway officials handled the situation. Mr Gunawardana claimed that CEB staff arrived on the scene, more than an hour after the incident.
“Even after they came, they did not do anything, saying the wire was ' live'. The officials took steps to close the road only after the towers started sparking when vehicles ran over it,” he claimed.
One of the main reasons for the large number of vehicles being damaged was due to the absence of street lamps on that stretch of road where the cable fell. They said a vehicle coming at around 100 kmph on the expressway, could hardly see the fallen cable, until they came very close to it, when it is too late.
However, CEB officials disputed the claim saying, the power got disconnected within microseconds. They said such cables were being inspected twice a year and were being properly maintained .
Meanwhile, a senior CEB official said they were greatly concerned by the unexpected incident and immediate steps taken to ensure non- recurrence of such incidents in the future. He said all such transmission cables that cross expressways would be checked accordingly, while a thorough investigation regarding the incident too is being carried out. He expected the final report regarding the incident to be submitted within the next few days.