Nikita, who fainted in the explosion, died while being taken to Seti Ganga Community Hospital at Belchautara, Tanahun, according to police. [break]
Police spokesperson in Kaski Bishwa Raj Adhikari said the incident occurred when Nikita was taking a call on her cellphone while it was being charged.
Locals say power in the village was disrupted for three days and transmission resumed only on Tuesday morning after Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) technicians repaired the transformer located near Nikita´s house.
She had left her set for recharging after power transmission resumed and taken the call from her father Krishna Bahadur, who has been working in Saudi Arabia since the past year and half. The explosion left her with a hole in her right hand and bleeding from her ears, according to locals.
“The mobile set exploded some 15 minutes after the NEA team went back upon completion of the repair,” Buddhi Sagar Poudel, a local, said. “The blast must have occurred due to high voltage,” he said.
Nikita´s uncle Khum Bahadur said she suddenly received a high voltage shock from the cellphone she was holding. “It´s all due to carelessness on the part of NEA,” he said. “The village had been without electricity for three days and the cellphone exploded immediately after the transformer was repaired,” he went on.
He said Nikita´s mother Gauri, who was near her daughter at the time of the incident, also felt the shock.
NEA, meanwhile, has claimed that there was nothing wrong with the repaired transformer. “The incident occurred due to the explosion of the cellphone battery,” chief of NEA Gagangaunda Branch Office Sher Bahadur Sunar claimed. “It was not NEA´s fault but due to the mobile set,” he added.
He claimed that an NEA team sent after the explosion found nothing wrong with the transformer and transmission line. “If the accident had occurred due to a sudden voltage surge, the wires and transformer would also have been damaged,” he argued.
Nikita had appeared in the last School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exams, from Ghari Talbesi School in Dhorfirdi, Tanahun.
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