At least eleven people have died due to electrocution in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday - April 27 during a mishap that occurred in the midst of a procession of a temple's chariot. The incident has left over a dozen injured who are currently hospitalized and condolences have been pouring in from across the country as Tamil Nadu has been grieving the demise of eleven people and praying for the recovery of the injured. 

According to the police, the procession of the temple's chariot in Thanjavur that began in the early morning hours of Wednesday had come in contact with a high transmission line following which the people steering the chariot were electrocuted. The fatal accident had killed ten people on the spot while the injured were rushed to the hospital. Among the deceased were three children. The incident has happened during the procession of the Appar temple chariot in Kalimedu, Thanjavur. 

The incident has drawn swift attention across and beyond the state. It has been reported that the temple chariot was taking a turn and it had faced difficulty and before being reserved, an iron rod on the chariot had come into contact with the overhead transmission line. As the chariot was tied to a high-efficient generator for the lighting, the impact was tragic as the people who were standing on the chariot were thrown away and caused casualties. Ten people have died on the spot while a 13-year-old had breathed his last while he was undergoing treatment. The injured have been getting treated at the Thanjavur Medical College. 

The authorities have identified the deceased as Pratap (36) former army officer, Raghavan (24), Mohan (22), Anbazhagan (60), Nagaraj (60), Chellam (56), Swaminathan (56), Santhosh (15), Rajkumar (14), Bharanidharan (13), and Govindharaj. At least 15 people have been injured. After being informed about the mishap, emergency services including fire tenders and district officials rushed to the spot and reviewed the situation. Thanjavur district collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver went to the medical college hospital and visited the injured people who are getting treated. 

He solaced them and instructed the medical staff to provide appropriate treatments to the injured. The Collector had then travelled to Kalimedu and visited the spot where the mishap had happened. Balakrishnan, the IG of Police, Central Zone, has visited the hospital and said that a case will be filed to launch a probe into the mishap. The reports say that the people were electrocuted 15 minutes ahead of the end of the procession. 

After learning about the incident, several political leaders have expressed their condolences to the deceased. The state government has paid tribute to the deceased during the assembly session on Wednesday and Chief Minister MK Stalin has started to Thanjavur to visit the injured and enquire about the situation. He had announced Rs 5 lakh ex gratia to the families of each deceased and the state opposition party, the ADMK had also paid tribute and announced solatium.