Electrical Accidents

Major Electrical & Fire Accidents in Tamil Nadu

1. Disastrous fire which took place in the Lakshmi Touring Talkies at Lourdhammalpuram in Tuticorin on 29th July 1979  around 04:30 pm.  Excerpts from http://www.tnfrs.tn.nic.in/major-incid.htm


LAKSHMI TOURING TALKIES, TUTICORIN
(29 JULY 1979)

An example of a Cinema Hall fire that took place in Tamil Nadu was a fire in Lakshmi Touring Talkies at Lourdhammalpuram, Tuticorin. On 29.07.1979 about 4.30 p.m fire broke out in this touring talkies on the outskirts of Tuticorin. The construction was of inflammable material (thatched leaves) and hence the fire spread very quickly. Several persons escaped, but several other persons were unable to escape and were burnt to death within the theatre itself. Some others who escaped had sustained injuries and some of them succumbed to injuries. Over a hundred persons reportedly died in the disaster. One of the main point of controversy was how the gates other than the entrance which were admittedly closed, were fastened. Licensee contented that thattis were fastened by twine using a “sulukku” (kÇ]a). Others contended that the thattis were fixed to supporting poles by iron wires so tightly that they could not be unfastened. This prevented the spectators from opening the closed thattis when fire broke out and escaping through apertures which were intended to be the exits in such emergencies. There were only one entrance for women and children. Most of the bodies were heaped one over the other at this point. The picture ran properly for the first half an hour. Then there was an interval and after about 5 mts the picture resumed, when there was a small fire. This spread rapidly. The fire was from behind the screen. It rose up and shot to the roof. Short circuiting behind the screen was the cause of the fire. Even though there were 12 places, where power could have been taken from the distribution board, it was taken only from 7 and dummy fuses were inserted in the other 5, while regular fuse were inserted in 7. From the evidence of the Electrical Inspector, short circuit in the 230-v line leading to the speaker must have caused the fire. The wire to the speaker came from the roof and without any support. The wire freely moved about and so must have come together. The wires were not changed after they were fitted on October ’77. The insulation wore out. The last inspection was done by Electrical Inspector on 23.08.78. Some of the fuse wires had not blown off because they were thicker than the permitted size. None of the fuses recovered from the cabin room had blown off. 9 fuses had not blown from the power room and 7 from the distribution board. As per the practice in the Electrical Department, the officers do not verify whether the defects said to have been rectified were actually rectified or not. In this case many defects were pointed out during inspection on 23.08.78. Sufficient buckets of water as prescribed under the regulation were not even kept.

Number persons lost their lives is 73 and 88 were injured. Property lost is Rs. 20,000/- and saved is Rs. 60,000/-