THANJAVUR: As many as 11 persons including three children were electrocuted, 13 were injured when the temple car they were accompanying touched the overhead power line at Kalimedu village near Thanjavur during the early hours of Wednesday.
According to sources on the occasion of the 94th year Sathaya vizha festival of Tirunavukkarasar, one of four saivaite savants, the decorated wooden car was pulled through the streets of the village in the early hours of Wednesday.
As the car procession completed going through the village, the public tried to maneuver the car in a turning to bring back the car to its stand near the mutt in the village it is said. At that time the top of the decorated car touched the overhead high tension power line.
Following this six persons were electrocuted on the spot. Seven others thrown over the ground were injured and rushed to Thanjavur Medical College hospital. Of them, five later died.
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Those who died in the ghastly accident are M Mohan (22), K Prathap (36), A Anbazhagan (60), his son Raghavan (24), R Santosh (15), T Selvam (56), M Rajkumar (14), R Swaminathan (56), A Govindaraj, S Bharani (13) all from Kalimedu village and Nagaraj (60) of Parisuthammal nagar in Thanjavur a ladder merchant.
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District collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver visited the spot of the accident and also the hospital where the injured are being treated.
Expressing deep grief over the death of 11 persons due to electrocution at Kalimedu village in Thanjavur when the temple car they were accompanying touched the overhead powerline in the wee hours today, Chief Minister MK Stalin announced a solatium of Rs. Five lakh each to the families of those who have lost their lives. The Chief Minister will be visiting Kalimedu today later in the day. School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi is also likely to visit Kalimedu.
In a statement here, the Chief Minister said he had instructed the district administration to provide the best possible treatment to the 15 persons who were injured in the accident and admitted to the hospital.