Dehradun: Sixteen people were killed and several injured after a power transformer exploded on the banks of the Alaknanda river in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, an official said on Wednesday.
The injured have been admitted to the district hospital.
Sixteen people were electrocuted and several injured in an accident at a power transformer at a Namami Gange project site on the banks of the Alaknanda river in Chamoli district, an official said.
The dead included three home guards and one policeman, he said.
President Droupadi Murmu expressed her condolences over the loss of lives due to electrocution in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
Prime minister Narendra Modi also expressed his deep condolences towards loss of lives in Chamoli electrical accident.
Uttarakhand chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and said rescue teams, district administration, and state disaster response force have reached the spot.
“For those severely injured, we are taking the help of helicopters to refer them to higher centres,” said Dhami in a statement. Chamoli district disaster management officer, NK Joshi, told PTI that the police had gone to the spot to prepare a report on the electrocution of a person working on the project site late on Tuesday.
At that time, a surge of electricity at the same spot hit the police personnel and the curious onlookers, leading to deaths and injuries, he added.