A transformer explosion near a sewage treatment plant claimed the lives of 16 people, including a policeman and three from the paramilitary Home Guard, on Wednesday, July 19.
The explosion took place in Uttarakhand state in India, near the Alaknanda River, where the transformer sparked and electrified a metal railing, leading to severe injuries and widespread damage. Those critically wounded were immediately transferred to a hospital located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, a northern state in the Himalayas.
Upon receiving information about a watchman suffering an electrocution incident, officers arrived at the scene, as reported by the Superintendent of Police in Chamoli, Pramendra Dobhal. What they discovered was a distressing sight of 16 people who had fallen victim to electrocution and 11 who had sustained injuries in the process.
The exact cause that triggered the explosion remains to be ascertained, leading the Chief Minister of the state, Pushkar Singh Dhami, to call for an all-encompassing investigation into the episode.
This tragic event has only added to the gloom enveloping the region, which is already grappling with the severe repercussions of relentless monsoon rains. With water levels in many rivers across northern India escalating, flood-induced damage has wreaked havoc in the area, with the death toll crossing a hundred in merely three weeks.
The exacerbating monsoon season has magnified the difficulties endured by the locals, highlighting the urgency of putting in place preemptive strategies to curb potential hazards in the future.