Rickshaw touches low-lying HT wire, 5 out of 7 charred to death

Tirupati: In a tragic yet horrific incident of a auto-rickshaw coming in contact with a low-lying high-tension power line, five out of seven people have been charred to death.

The incident reported on Thursday, occurred at Chillakondaiahpalli of Thadimarri mandal in Sri Satya Sai district.

Reports suggest that there were six farm labourers and a driver.

As per the sources, the roof top of the rickshaw touched the low-lying high-tension wire and immediately caught fire. Driver and a woman labourer managed to jump out of the rickshaw and sustained serious injuries. The rest of the five could not manage to escape and were charred to death. Both the survivors were rushed to the nearby hospital, in which, one of them is said to be critical.

The police and the fire personnel rushed to the spot to douse the fire. The police are yet to identify the bodies.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy has expressed his condolences towards the deceased and the injured. He has announced relief amount of Rs 10 lakhs each the family of the deceased and Rs 2 lakhs towards the injured.