Pretoria – Police in Maake, outside Tzaneen under the Mopani District in Limpopo, have opened a case of inquest after a 4-year-old boy was allegedly electrocuted to death by an open live wire at Burgersdorp village.
Limpopo police spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Mamphaswa Seabi said the boy died on Sunday evening.
“The child was allegedly with his siblings walking from their aunt’s place in the same village when the tragic incident happened. The children ran home to inform their mother that their younger brother was shocked by an open live wire that was lying on the ground,” Seabi said.
The 4-year-old was certified dead on the scene by emergency medical personnel.
“Police opened a case of inquest for further investigation. The deceased was identified as Tebatso Thabang Makhata,” Seabi said.
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe has expressed sadness over the tragic incident and urged residents to “report illegal activities including illegal electricity connections that are taking place to the police, in order to prevent these types of incidents from happening”.
Police investigations into the incident are still continuing.
In February, a municipal worker died after he was electrocuted while cutting grass in uMlazi, Durban.
At the time, Emer-G-Med spokesperson Kyle van Reenen said paramedics responded to a report of an electrocution in the Z Section.
“Reports from the scene are that a male about 38 years of age was cutting the grass on the side of the roadway when he accidentally struck an electrical wire.
“The man was found in a critical condition and advanced life support resuscitation efforts were exhausted for more than 45 minutes in an attempt to revive him, however they were unsuccessful and the man was declared dead on the scene,” Van Reenen said.
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