8 Fire Teams, 50+ Personnel Struggle for Hours to Rescue Drunk Man from High-Tension Tower in Pune
Nigdi, Pimpri-Chinchwad: It was a night of high voltage drama, literally. In an incident that drew gasps from thousands of onlookers and triggered a massive emergency response, a drunk, possibly mentally unstable man climbed a perilous 132 KV high-tension transmission tower in the Yamuna Nagar area late Monday night. The stunt, which threatened to turn fatal, forced a massive 1.5-hour power shutdown and required 50 firefighters to execute a tense, hours-long rescue .
A City Holds Its Breath: The 9 PM Crisis
The chaos erupted around 9:15 PM on April 27 when residents spotted a silhouette moving up the lattice structure of the massive power line tower on Nigdi Talawade Road. As the unidentified man, estimated to be in his 20s, climbed higher, panic spread through the neighborhood. Within minutes, the police control room was flooded with calls .
Initial attempts to coax the man down failed. According to Fire Officer Rushikesh Chipade, who led the operation, the individual was heavily inebriated and non-responsive. “He was in no condition to speak or follow instructions, so we couldn’t rely on his cooperation. He had to be forcibly brought down,” Chipade told media agencies .
The Rescue Strategy: Why The Power Had to Die
Rescuing an uncooperative individual from a live high-voltage wire is a death sentence for both the victim and the rescuer. The Pimpri-Chinchwad Fire Brigade immediately coordinated with the power utility for an emergency load shutdown.
Securing the ‘Kill Zone’
Before a single rescuer could touch the metal tower, the electricity supply had to be cut.
- Phase 1 (Shutdown): Authorities took 1.5 hours to completely shut down the 132 KV transmission supply.
- Phase 2 (Earthing): An additional 30 minutes were spent on “earthing” the static current to ensure the tower carried zero residual charge .
Only after the tower was declared electrically safe did the rescue team move in.
The ‘Dual Operation’: 50 Men vs. One Man
The rescue, which involved 8 fire brigade units and a specialized force of 50-60 personnel, was a technical marvel conducted under the cover of darkness .
Officials described it as a “dual operation” :
- The Ascent & Safety Line: Two expert firefighters first scaled the structure without safety gear to reach the man. Their priority was to attach a safety line to him to prevent a potential 50-foot fall.
- The Aerial Extraction: Following the securing of the line, an aerial ladder platform (skylift) was raised to the man’s height. The rescuers physically subdued him, secured him to the platform, and brought him down .
Once on solid ground, the dramatic rescue concluded with the man being handed over to the waiting Nigdi police.
VIDEO | On a man climbing high-voltage tower in Pimpri-Chinchwad, fire officer Rishikant Chipade says, "The person who climbed seemed to be intoxicated, we had to rescue forcefully, to ensure he doesn't fall, we had a dual operation, with the aerial ladder platform, he was… pic.twitter.com/8eyWmBHsGg
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 27, 2026
Managing Mayhem: Crowd of 5,000
While the fire brigade focused on the tower, the Pimpri-Chinchwad police faced a different kind of crisis on the ground. As news spread, a massive crowd, estimated at over 5,000 people, gathered at the spot, jamming the roads and creating a law-and-order risk .
“The police teams focused on crowd and traffic control, while the fire brigade deployed their truck-mounted aerial platform skylift,” an officer stated. The chaotic gathering also highlighted the public’s morbid curiosity, which often hampers emergency response times .
What Happened to the Man?
Given his erratic behavior on the tower, police have not ruled out underlying mental health issues in addition to intoxication.
The man was initially taken for a medical examination but was subsequently admitted to the psychiatric ward of Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital. Inspector Mahesh Bansode of Nigdi police station confirmed that the individual is currently unidentified, and efforts are underway to trace his family .
Authorities continue to investigate how the man breached the security cordon of the restricted high-voltage zone. No charges have been filed yet as the man remains under medical evaluation.
