New Delhi: Thirteen people were electrocuted on Thursday when a tractor-trolley carrying workers hit an electricity post and the live wire fell on them, near Machavaram village in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh.
Of the deceased, seven were women. PTI has quoted police as having said that the negligence of the tractor driver caused the accident.
The news agency also put the toll at 10, while Indian Express has reported that 13 people have died.
According to Sharat Babu, Additional Superintendent of Police (administration), Prakasam district, the deceased were workers in chilli plantations. The workers were reportedly returning home from work at the plantation.
The driver, N. Chenchaiah, died at on Thursday night hours after the accident, Prakasam District Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kaushal was quoted as having said, by PTI.
However, Times of India reported that 38-year-old Nalluri Chenchaiah was in fact the owner of the chilli farm and had died at RIMS hospital in Ongole.
The TOI report (like Indian Express) also quoted police as having said that the number of people in the truck was 30, and not 23, as mentioned by PTI.
Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan expressed shock and offered condolences to the families of the dead.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy too expressed shock and ordered the district collector to ensure treatment for the injured. Jagan has asked his cabinet colleagues from the district to visit the families of the deceased and injured, an official press release said.
He has also ordered Rs 5 lakh as ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased.
Expressing grief over the death of the workers in the accident, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan said the government should come forward to help the kin of the victims.
In a statement, he said he was sorry to hear there were two intermediate students among the deceased.
(With agency inputs)
