As many as 11 persons were electrocuted during a temple chariot procession in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district when it came into contact with a high tension transmission line, police said on Wednesday, April 27. Those who died in the accident included three children. The tragic incident occurred early on Wednesday at Kalimedu near Thanjavur when the Appar temple chariot procession was underway.

The temple car was negotiating a turn and faced some obstacle before being reversed when it came into contact with the overhead line, police and eyewitnesses said. The people standing on the chariot were thrown off it in the impact.

According to reports, 10 people died on the spot while several who suffered injuries were admitted to the Thanjavur Medical College. A 13-year-old boy succumbed to his injuries while he was undergoing treatment, taking the death toll to 11. Those who died in the accident have been identified as Mohan (22), Pratap (36), Raghavan (24), Anbazhagan (60), Nagaraj (60), Santosh (15), Chellam (56), Rajkumar (14), Swaminathan (56) and two others. TV visuals showed the chariot completely damaged in the impact.

Emergency services including fire tenders and district officials rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. Further details are awaited. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also took note of the incident and expressed his condolences to the families of those who died in the accident. He also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the families. The Chief Minister is also expected to travel to Thanjavur district later on Wednesday to meet with the families of those who died and those who were injured. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to Twitter and said that Rs 2 lakh would be given to the families of those who died in the accident from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund, while those injured would receive Rs 50,000. 

With PTI inputs