17 electrocuted at Brazil street party

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BANDEIRA DO SUL, Brazil, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- A live power line fell onto a crowd at a Brazilian street party, killing 17 people, police said.

Another 50 people were injured in the freak accident Sunday night in the town of Bandeira do Sul in Minas Gerais state, the Brazilian news site Folha.com reported.

More than 10,000 people had gathered in the small town for a pre-Carnival party called Carnaband.

The victims were dancing around a truck playing music, witnesses said.

"Someone let out a rocket that broke the cable. Then the wire fell on the truck," said Daniel de Oliveira Castro. "Then it was chaos. People were electrocuted. … It was a horror."

The accident cut off the town's electricity and telephone service.