Sam Amico
At least 15 people died as the result of electrocution after power lines fell onto a bridge in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, police said.
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Authorities say the incident happened when an electricity transformer on the banks of the Alaknanda River exploded.
It looks like the railing of the bridge got electrified by the wires,” V Murugesan, an Uttarakhand police official said, via CBS News.
“We got a call that a security guard has died of electrocution. When police personnel went with villagers, they found 22 people were electrocuted and suffered severe injuries,” district police superintendent Pramendra Dobhal added.
At least seven people survived with injuries. All are believed to still be hospitalized.
“Extremely painful news was received of many casualties due to electrocution in Chamoli,” said Uttarakhand state Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in a tweet, adding that “a magisterial inquiry has been ordered into this unfortunate incident. I pray to God for the peace of the departed souls and the speedy recovery of the injured.”
Uttarakhand is among the cities near India’s capital of New Delhi that have been reeling as the result of record rainfall this month. It has not been determined if the rains and flooding caused the transformer to explode.
But the weather has caused landslides and home collapses that have been blamed for nearly 100 deaths to this point.
