Five persons including a woman died of electrocution and two others suffered burns in the city on Tuesday. The mishap occurred when the victims came in contact with live High Tension (HT) power cables, said the locals.

The deceased have been identified as Ganta Subba Reddy (50), his son G. Srinivas Reddy (20), daughter G. Laxmi Tirupatamma (24) and their neighbours – Tirupati Reddy (30) and Nagarjuna Reddy (20).

The incident occurred when an iron rod, which was being adjusted on an under construction shed on the second floor of a building, touched the high tension power cables passing just a few yards away from the house, located at Urmilanagar in Bhavanipuram.

Subba Reddy, who lifted the rod to some height accidentally touched the electric wires and received the shock. His son and daughter who were assisting him too suffered the shock. Neighbours, Tirupati Reddy and Nagarjuna Reddy, who came to their rescue suffered critical burns and got charred to death.

The mishap occurred as the construction activity was taken up close to the HT power cables which were passing without insulation cover, said the neighbours.

The injured were rushed to a private hospital at Gollapudi and their condition is stated to be stable. Bhavanipuram police registered a case.