A 32-year-old woman was zapped to death when she hung a wet cloth on an electrical cable after mistaking it for a clothesline.

The tragic incident took place at a home in Bernardino Batista, north-eastern Brazil, on 20th November.

According to police, victim Maria ‘Mocinha’ Monteiro da Silva was working at the home as a maid.

She had been washing clothes and had gone into the back garden to hang them on the clothesline.

But when she hung a wet cloth on the line, which she had not realised was actually a power cable, she suffered a massive electric shock and fell to the ground.

Paramedics were called to the scene, but by the time they arrived, Maria was already dead.

Forensic experts attended the scene and Maria’s body was then taken for a post-mortem examination in Cajazeiras.

Civil Police are now working to find out who had placed the power wire at the same height as the clothesline.

They will work to ascertain if Maria’s bosses, the owners of the house, or the residents of the house are liable for negligence charges.

In some reports, Maria’s age was given as 37.

The investigation continues.