Mokopane man electrocuted at power box
What was intended to be a cable burglary killed a resident after he shocked and burnt at a power box in Petunia Street.
MOKOPANE – Martin van Eck, reaction officer from Special Operation Solutions (SOS) Security says he was first on the scene and struggled to get the deceased out of the power box. “He was still alive when I tried to get him out. It was a struggle because he got in from the underground concrete pipes where the main cables are situated. From what I have seen on his arms it is very clear that he is a nyaope abuser and that is probably why he tried stealing cables to sell for the drugs. I am still unsure of where he got inside the underground pipe.”
Two SOS medics, Sylvia Harris and Philip Crause also arrived on the scene. Harris, says: “We rushed him to Mokopane Hospital and was later flown to Polokwane. He had no info about himself on him so it is still unclear to us about who he is. He had second- and third-degree burns from which he later died.”
One of the anonymous witnesses told Bosveld that his friend was busy hanging laundry. His friend’s house is right behind where the power box is situated. “We heard screaming and saw smoke. We then realised it is someone burning at the power box. We tried extinguishing his burning clothes but it did not work and then we also tried throwing him with soil before SOS arrived.”
