At least 16 people were killed and 50 injured during carnival celebrations in the Brazilian city of Bandeira do Sul after overhead power lines broke and fell into the crowd, Spanish news agency EFE reported on Monday.
According to one account, the wires broke when fireworks hit them and caused a short circuit. The entire city was blacked out by the cut.
Over half a million people are taking part in street festivities on the eve of the Rio de Janeiro carnival.
The event officially begins only in the middle of the week but so-called "street" carnival begins in Rio as long as a month before the official celebrations.
MOSCOW, February 28 (RIA Novosti)
