A transformer explosion on the riverbanks in India that electrified a bridge resulted in at least 16 fatalities and six injuries.
Officials in the Chamoli district of India's Himalayan state of Uttarakhand reported that a police inspector and three home guards (auxiliary to the police) were among the individuals who were killed inside a sewage treatment facility on the banks of the Alakananda river.
The government's flagship Namami Gange project seeks to preserve and revitalize the river Ganges, and the electrified bridge near Pipalkoti hamlet was a component of that plant.
Bridge Electrification Results in Deaths
According to NK Joshi, the disaster management officer for Chamoli district, the police went to the scene to get information on an employee who was electrocuted while working there. The incident was brought about by electricity flowing through a metal fence, killing more people, including the investigating cops.
In a report by the Independent, some of the wounded were sent to a nearby facility, while others were flown to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rishikesh by helicopter.
The chief minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, has ordered a judicial inquiry. He traveled from Dehradun, the state capital, to Chamoli to view the scene. "This is a very unfortunate incident. Police, SDRF [State Disaster Response Force, Assam], and rescue teams are present at the spot. Strict action will be taken against the guilty," he stated.
Himanshu Khurana, the district magistrate, has claimed that an in-depth investigation will reveal the true cause of the occurrence but that initial evidence points to electrocution, as reported by Reuters.
The tragedy occurred at an "old 50KLD sewage treatment plant," according to a source cited by Times of India. The source said the workers were cleaning up the muck that had accumulated due to the rain.
The chief minister has requested that the government pay Rs500,000 (about $6100) to the surviving family members of the victims and Rs100,000 (about $1,200) to each of the wounded.
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Terrible Mishaps in India
Independent reported that more than a hundred people in north India have been killed by torrential rains over the previous three weeks. This tragedy, meanwhile, took place as water levels in most rivers there rose owing to record monsoon rainfall.
Electrocution was responsible for the deaths of at least 100,000 persons between 2011 and 2020, as reported by the National Crime Records Bureau. Annually, there were around 11,000 electrocutions, and by 2022, that figure had risen to 12,492.
A lady was killed in the city of Delhi last month after she struck an electric pole while navigating a flooded road to reach a railway station.
In April, at least 11 people were killed when a vehicle driving in a parade for a Hindu festival in southern India touched a suspended electricity line.
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