LAHORE: Four workers were tragically killed in Shahdara after being electrocuted while installing a signboard on a shop’s rooftop.
The incident took place early on Wednesday morning on Daulat Khan Road when the workers were setting up an advertising board.
Rescue officials reported that one of the workers accidentally touched an electrical wire, which caused the current to flow through the metal signboard, electrocuting all four men. Three of the victims were identified as 45-year-old Nadeem, 25-year-old Nouman, and 26-year-old Muhammad Awais Haider. The fourth victim, believed to be around 25 years old, could not be identified by the evening.
When rescue teams arrived at the scene, they found that all four men had already succumbed to the electrocution. Their bodies were taken to the Mayo Hospital mortuary for legal procedures.
The police report, filed by ASI Ghulam Hussain of the Shahdara Police Station, revealed that the workers were attempting to install two large advertising boards, each measuring 17 feet by 13 feet. The tragic incident occurred when the signboard made contact with an 11,000kV main transmission line while being lifted onto the rooftop. The workers had brought the boards from Karim Market earlier that night and were attempting to install them without proper coordination with the Lahore Electric Supply Company, nor did they have the necessary permits from the Parks and Horticulture Authority or the Metropolitan Corporation Lahore.
There were false claims circulating on social media suggesting that the electrocution occurred while shopkeepers were removing signboards to avoid regulatory action. Authorities clarified that the incident had no connection with the Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority (PERA) operations. The workers were installing new boards without the necessary permits, not removing old ones.
The bodies of the identified victims were returned to their families after the legal formalities were completed. The police have launched an investigation into the incident’s circumstances.
Local authorities have urged shopkeepers and contractors to take proper safety measures and secure necessary approvals before installing signage, particularly in areas with overhead electrical lines.
In a separate incident, the roof of an under-construction house collapsed near Bedian Road, leading to the deaths of two individuals and leaving one person severely injured.
