More than a dozen people were also injured in Thanjavur district in southern Tamil Nadu state after a vehicle, a 9-foot (2.7-meter) tall structure shaped like a chariot and dragged by worshipers, crashed into the high voltage line.
“I hope the injured recover soon,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter as he offered condolences to the bereaved.
Some of the wounded were injured from falling after being electrocuted, and others, trying to escape the flames, jumped from a carriage carrying statues of Hindu gods and devotees.
The carriage, which was heading back to the nearby temple, had left behind a pile of rubble.
Fire trucks and local officials joined the rescue effort.
