Video of Live Wire Falling On a Man Shared With a False Claim

The person was reportedly electrocuted after a wire fell on him at the Kharagpur railway station in West Bengal.

Fact-Check: The person wasn't electrocuted due to using Bluetooth.

(Photo: The Quint)

A video showing a person collapsing on a railway station platform while talking to another person has gone viral on the internet.

The claim: Those sharing the video have claimed that the person was electrocuted because he was using earphones near the high tension wires of the railways. According to the posts, 'when the earphones were activated by the internet, a current came from the wires.'

A claim with the viral video.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Note: Due to the distressing nature of the visuals, we have refrained from including any links in the story.)

The truth: The person was reportedly electrocuted after a stray wire got in contact with the over head equipments (OHE) (an overhead wire used to transmit electrical energy to trains) and then fell on his head.

• The railway employee, identified as Sujan Singh Sardar, received injuries and burns, but recovered after being taken to the hospital.

How did we find that out?: We conducted a reverse image search on a keyframe from the viral video and found a news report on India Today, which carried a screenshot.

A link to the report can be found here.

(Source: India Today/Screenshot)

• According to the report, a railway staff received burn injuries after being electrocuted by a live wire at Kharagpur railway station in West Bengal.

• The official was identified as Sujan Singh Sardar, a travelling ticket examiner (TTE).

• The report was published in other publications like The Indian Express and NDTV.

How was he electrocuted?: The reports mentioned that a live wire fell on Sardar causing the burn injuries.

• In an interview with Zee, Kharagpur DRM Mohammad Sujat Hashmi said that while the exact cause of the incident was yet to be ascertained, a decorative wire fell on the OHE causing it to snap and fall on Sardar.

• Hashmi added that Sardar was in a stable condition.

Conclusion: The claim that a person was electrocuted because of using earphones near a railway platform is false.

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