Woman electrocuted at beauty salon

A middle-aged woman died of an electric shock at a beauty salon in Shanghai yesterday.

The incident happened around noon at a South Korean-style salon on 127 Yanji Road W. in Yangpu District. The place has been shut after the tragic incident.

Yangpu District police confirmed the incident yesterday and has ruled out the possibility of a crime.

The electric shock was reportedly caused by a leakage in the cosmetic machine used by the victim, surnamed Zhang.

Zhang, 42, who was receiving beauty treatment, was covered in a cloth which was attached to wires, witnesses said.

"Her face turned blue and she was not breathing when she was carried out to the ambulance," said a neighbor surnamed Xu, who lived next door to the salon.

After emergency rescue efforts failed to revive her at the salon, Zhang was rushed to the nearest Xinhua Hospital, where she was declared dead.

The owner of the salon refused to comment on the incident yesterday.

Xu said the salon has been around for three years but was not in good condition.

"People (employees) kept coming in and out and I don't know what they did because I don't do beauty treatment," Xu told Shanghai Daily.

Xu said the owner, who hails from Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, had other stores and was not often seen in the salon on Yanji Road W. Three of her employees usually took care of the salon.