AT LEAST 17 PEOPLE HAVE DIED after being electrocuted during a carnival at the small south-eastern Brazilian town Bandeira do Sul.

According to police, fireworks knocked into a power cable as a music truck passed through the town, causing the cable to break and fall into the crowds, the PA reports.

Dozens were injured in the incident, and some people suggested the truck may have struck the cable.

The BBC reports that this street festival was one of a group organised in advance of the world-famous Carnival festival, which begins on Friday.

One witness said it was “chaos” and that the lights went out when the cable broke and electrocuted people. They also said that people fell off the music truck during the confusion.

Earlier this month, an extensive fire at the warehouse where Rio de Janeiro’s leading samba schools had stored their costumes and floats for Carnival caused millions of euros worth of damage. Festival organisers said Carnival would go ahead, but participants had just weeks to repair the damage.

The dance schools usually spend a whole year preparing for the festival.