Rescuers later talk her down
A 55-year-old woman scaled a towering utility pole with high-voltage electricity lines in Dhaka’s Hatirjheel Lake before coming down to the relief of rescuers and onlookers, reports bdnews24.com.

Identified as Khuku Moni from Munshiganj, the woman, swam to the several-hundred-foot-tall pole in the middle of the lake before climbing it on Friday afternoon.

A rescue team from Tejgaon Fire Station quickly responded to a 999 call around 5pm, according to Lima Khanom, control room officer of the fire service.

She said the woman is believed to be mentally unstable, adding that the tower has 133kv electricity lines.

Power Development Board officials also rushed to the scene and said the connection could not be switched off.

Hundreds of onlookers gathered on the banks of the lake bustling with visitors on weekend.

Himel, a witness who identified himself with a single name, said people gathered at the Moghbazar-Tejgaon side of Hatirjheel after spotting the woman atop the pole. The fire service team used loudspeakers, urging the onlookers to clear the area.

Fire service staffer Lima said the rescuers talked to the woman and made her understand that she needed to get down. The woman climbed down the pole at 6:05pm.

Awlad Hossain, chief of Hatirjheel Police Station, said the rescuers addressed the woman as a sister and requested her to get down.

He said the woman travelled to Dhaka from Munshiganj after Eid-ul-Azha and started to spend her days as a vagabond.

Police contacted her relatives to hand her over to them, he said.

thefinancialexpress