Three Electrocuted in Brazil Carnival Festivities

Three men were killed early Tuesday when a Carnival float ran into a power line in the southeastern Brazilian city of Nova Iguacu, local media reported.

The Palmerinha samba school was getting ready to go on parade when one of its floats hit the power line, electrocuting the three men riding it.

Emergency personnel tried to revive them, but without success, officials quoted on the Globo G1 news site said.

Another samba school "was finishing its parade. As soon as it did, we canceled the other presentations," said civil defense chief Luiz Antunez.

In other Carnival deaths, a man was shot and killed Monday night in the northeastern city of Bahia.

The G1 website said he was the second person to die of a gunshot wound since Sunday in Bahia, a city famous for its raucous Carnivals.

In Rio, police used tear gas to disperse crowds when a street party degenerated into a brawl in the Complexo de Alemao, one of the city's toughest favelas, images on Globo TV showed.

Police in Sao Paulo also resorted to tear gas early Tuesday after revelers in the hip Vila Madalena neighborhood refused to heed a 1:00 am closing time set by the authorities.

Four people were injured in the ensuing scuffles, including a policeman hit by a bottle, the daily Folha de Sao Paulo reported.