Five mourners electrocuted during Ashura procession in India, Four burnt in Karbala

At least five people were electrocuted Saturday and seven others injured after an Ashura (Muharram 10) procession came into contact with a high-voltage wire in India, police told AFP.

A fire killed four people in Karbala on Friday as hundreds of thousands of devotees gathered to mark Ashura.“According to preliminary reports, the fire was sparked by a gas bottle in the kitchen” of a tent and then spread into an adjacent market, an emergency services statement said.

The blaze erupted in an alleyway near the mausoleum of Imam Hussein.

Every year on Muharram 10, Yaum-i-Ashura is observed with solemnity to pay homage to Imam Husain, the grandson of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and the other martyrs of Karbala.

Members of a procession in the eastern state of Jharkhand were killed when a metal pole carried by some devotees hit an overhead cable, Bokaro district police superintendent Priyadarshi Alok told AFP.

“Four people have died and seven others are injured,” he said.

Deaths by electrocution are common in India as a result of waterlogging during the summer monsoon season.

Nearly 11,000 people on average die by electrocution in India every year, according to official data.A magisterial probe has found that faulty earthing led to the electrocution of 16 persons at a Namami Gange sewage treatment plant in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli and has recommended blacklisting of the two companies responsible for the STP’s maintenance for violating safety norms.

Electric current ran through the steps and railings leading to the STP located on the banks of the Alaknanda river in Chamoli on July 18-19. The report of the probe, which was carried out by Chamoli Additional District Magistrate Abhishek Tripathi, also recommended power safety audits be conducted at all STPs to prevent such incidents.

It said the joint venture companies responsible for the electrification system at the STP— Jai Bhushan Malik Contractors, Patiala (lead partner); and Confident Engineering India Private Limited, Coimbatore—violated safety norms. It recommended cancelling their contracts and blacklisting them in Uttarakhand.

There was a short circuit in changeover panel and a sharp earth fault in control and main panels. Due to the unavailability of proper earthing, the current passed through the metallic structures, including steps and railings. As a result, whoever came in contact with the steps or railings got electrocuted.