Nine elephants were electrocuted near a village in eastern Botswana this week after they came into contact with a fallen power line near a water source, officials said.

The country’s government said in a statement on Wednesday that the Botswana Power Corporation detected problems on Monday in the power system that serves an area near the eastern village of Dukwi, and sent an official, Thabo Nlashiki, to investigate.

He discovered eight dead elephants near the broken line, which they had apparently damaged near a pool of water that had formed from a leaking pipe. A ninth elephant was near death. Electricians cut off the power flow to try to save it.

“But it was too late, as it died as well,” the government statement said. The damage had also set off a small fire that was brought under control.