Tragedy at the Brazilian carnival
In 16 struck by high tension

SAN PAOLO – On Sunday night, an accident devastated a Brazilian pre-carnival party in the town of Bandeira do Sul, in the state of Minas Gerais, in south-eastern Brazil. At least 16 people would be dazzled by a high voltage cable that fell into the crowd after it broke, local media reported, citing rescue teams. According to medical sources, the number of victims is destined to rise: many young people are hospitalized in very serious conditions. The mayor of Bandeira do Sul, Jose Capituva, announced the opening of an investigation.

According to the first evidence, the cable could have been severed from an allegorical wagon, ending up on the people who were dancing on the vehicle during the parade in the main street of the city. Another hypothesis is that the high voltage wires jumped when they were touched by fireworks, causing a short circuit and a subsequent blackout throughout the area. Telephone lines have also been interrupted.

Sunday night, in Bandeira do Sul, the cart was parading for the so-called “street carnival”, a sort of anticipation of the eve of the real carnival, which will officially begin next Friday. In Brazil it is customary to see wagons traveling the streets in the days preceding the start of the festival that many consider to be the greatest spectacle in the world. Accidents are nothing new.

A week ago, a 21-year-old died falling from a height four meters from a wagon on which he danced during a parade in Copacabana, the famous neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. In Rio, on February 7th last, a fire, triggered by apparently accidental causes, devastated the warehouses and ateliers where wagons and costumes were prepared for the carnival of three of the nine samba schools in Rio. Thanks to the solidarity and help of the other schools, they too will be at the Sambodromo on the 6th and 7th of March for the great parade.
(February 28, 2011)