5 women killed in Andhra Pradesh as high-tension power line falls on their auto
Five daily wage laborers, all women, were charred to death when a high tension power line snapped and fell on the auto they were traveling in Sri Satya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh.
The unfortunate incident occurred near Chillakondayyapalli village on Thursday morning, when the large passenger auto was carrying 12 labourers for farm work. The auto driver and eight other women managed to escape with injuries, while the auto was gutted. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital.
In a statement ridiculed by the opposition parties, Andhra Pradesh southern power distribution company CMD Haranatha Rao has put the blame on a squirrel, saying that the tiny animal climbed on the pole, caused a short-circuit and thereby the heavy wire snapped.
