Heat Stroke Claims Lives of Election Workers in Sonbhadra

Two election workers died and nine were hospitalized during poll duty in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh. The symptoms suggest heat stroke as the cause, but confirmation will await post-mortem results. The affected personnel were dispatched from Robertsganj and are now under treatment, with some in serious condition.

Two people on election duty died and nine taken ill of suspected heat stroke as they were being dispatched to their assignment locations in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district, a senior official said on Friday.

The nine poll personnel are undergoing treatment at the district hospital where their condition is said to be serious, said District Magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh.

While the exact cause of death is yet to be ascertained, the district magistrate said the symptoms appeared to be that of heat stroke.

Singh said the personnel were being dispatched for poll duty from the Polytechnic College in Robertsganj -- Sonbhadra's administrative headquarters -- in the afternoon when 11 people suddenly fell ill. They were immediately sent to the district hospital where Nityanand Pandey (50) and a 35-year-old poll duty personnel died.

Thirteen seats in Uttar Pradesh go to the polls in the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday.

Singh said of the nine patients, two have been referred to a private hospital.

He added that the exact cause of the deaths will be known after post-mortem.