Five people die electrocuted during a Hindu procession in India

July 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Five people have died electrocuted this Saturday during a Hindu religious procession in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, in the west of the country.

A group of kanwariyas or followers of Shiva were returning in a Rali Chauhan vehicle, near the city of Haridwar, after collecting water from the holy river Ganges and were being greeted by a crowd, reports Indian television NDTV.

The vehicle, in which celebratory music was playing, collided with a high-voltage power line that was off the hook. Electrical current passed through the vehicle and into the crowd, and several people fainted.

One of the pilgrims died on the spot and four others have subsequently died due to the seriousness of their injuries. Five more people are hospitalized, two of them in critical condition.

Neighbors in the area have blocked a road in protest of the accident and have demanded immediate intervention to prevent a repeat. “The accident is the result of negligence in the preparation of the Kanwar Yatra” or procession, explained one of the residents.

The Kanwar Yatra procession is the largest religious act in India and brings together between 10 and 12 million people each year who travel from all over the country. Pilgrims or kanwariyas dress in orange and usually walk barefoot as a sign of devotion.

Another seven people died last month – including two minors – after a religious car or rath was struck by a high-voltage cable in Unakoti, Tripura.