Two men die as Ganesh Chathurthi chariot comes in contact with electric line in TN

MADURAI: Two men died and two others suffered injuries when a chariot they used for carrying a Ganesh idol came in contact with an electric line at Sokkanathanputhur in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday night.
Police said locals erected a pandal in Kulalar Street to celebrate the Ganesh Chathurthi festival. The idol was later placed in a chariot and taken to a near waterbody in a procession. It was immersed in the waterbody.
Muneeswaran, 24, Marimuthu, 33, Selvakrishnan, 32, and Chellapandi, 42, were pulling the empty chariot back to the pandal when it got stuck in a tree. They tried to pull the chariot to the opposite side. The chariot, made of metal, came in contact with a high tension electric line.
All four of them suffered an electric shock and were thrown off.
They were rushed to Sivagiri Government Hospital in Tenkasi district. Marimuthu and Muniswaran died en route to hospital. Selvakrishnan and Chellapandi were battling for their lives in the hospital, police said on Thursday.
The Sethur police registered a case and were investigating.
State revenue and disaster management minister K K S S R Ramachandran and industries minister Thangam Thennarasu visited the injured men in the hospital. They consoled the family members of the deceased. They announced a solatium of Rs 50,000 each for the kin of the deceased.