A mentally ill man, missing from his home for three days, climbed an electrical transformer in central India on Wednesday morning (December 19).

Footage of the scene shows a crowd gathered in the town of Raigarh in Chhattisgarh state while the man grasps the high tension wire of the transformer, that was luckily inactive at the time.

Sarangarh Karigipani, a resident of Ghanshyam Baraiha, left his house alone without telling anyone on December 16, causing his family to mount a search, until they received a police call on Wednesday afternoon when he was seen climbing the transformer.

Police immediately informed local power suppliers to deactivate the power line, saving his life as he repeatedly touched the high tension wire.

Police personnel then climbed up with the help of two cranes to rescue him, while Karigipani started yelling and trying to beat them with the power line. They successfully got him down after about two hours and he has since been admitted to hospital and it hoped will be discharged soon.